Lions 2026 Free Agency: Cedrick Wilson, WR
Can this veteran WR overcome knee and shoulder surgeries to make the Lions roster?
Free agency is winding down, but the Detroit Lions aren’t done quite yet. They added Cedrick Wilson Jr. to the wide receiver room this week. While he brings veteran experience, he carries some injury history concerns.
Below is the medical report for Cedrick Wilson. For a full breakdown of all the Lions free agents, visit my Lions 2026 Free Agency Page.
Medical concern level ranges from 0 (no concern) to 10 (extreme).
(Ages in parentheses are at start of 2026 season and are factored into the concern level. Injury info and ages based on available public information and are unverified - subject to update. Games played data courtesy of pro-football-reference.com)
Cedrick Wilson, WR (30)
Contract: pending
Medical Concern Level: 6/10
2025: 10 games played. Knee injury with “clean-up” surgery caused missed games early in season. Able to play final 10 games of season.
2024: 15 games. Briefly left a game with a shoulder injury. Minor hip, ankle, and abdomen injuries.
2023: 16/18 games
2022: 16/18 games. Minor rib and toe injuries. Minor hip.
2021: 17/18 games. Missed 1 game with ankle. Minor shoulder.
2020: 16 games
2019: 6 games. Possible ACL sprain ended his season.
2018: 0 games. Missed season due to shoulder labrum surgery.
Wilson has had many injury issues over his career. Most of them have been of the mild variety, but he does have a knee and shoulder surgery history.
The recent knee surgery might be a clean-up of cartilage, which would carry residual concerns. There appear to be recurrent shoulder injuries over his career. These issues combined with his age over 30 present reliability concerns.
What’s reassuring is that he finished out last season healthy and has a good track record of availability over the past six seasons. He is likely on just a 1-year deal with minimal to no guarantees, which would keep the risk low for the Lions.
Production has been scant recently with just 5 receptions in 2025, and 20 receptions in 2024. He only played 21 special teams snaps in 2025, so may not be much help there.
While the Lions’ top three WR’s are firmly set with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Isaac TeSlaa, there is room for Wilson to earn a role as a veteran backup.
For a quick summary of the Lions’ offensive positional depth chart from before the draft…