How Marco Wilson went from thinking his football career was over to leading the Panthers defense in two weeks

He trained with Horn in LA during the offseason and felt comfortable with the defensive playbook. He might have been added as depth, but coaches quickly realized they still had a valuable corner in the building.

“He’s a pro,” bragged coach Dave Canales. “His preparation, the side meetings, getting prep, getting ready for playing in this scheme.

“But he’s played a lot of ball, so he’s a guy that knows how to do it, and I was confident to be able to get him out there in the last couple of weeks, just watching him move around, his footwork, his speed, the aggressive nature that he plays with, was all encouraging and gave us the confidence to put him out there today.”

When Akayleb Evans was put on injured reserve the day of the game, the Panthers needed another corner up for game day. Wilson was the obvious choice, with a veteran background. But despite being in Charlotte for less than two weeks, he had also shown enough that coaches gave him the nod to start opposite Will Lee III.

“I just felt super blessed, like super happy. I could have broken out in tears,” said Wilson. “I prayed for situations like this, and God answered my prayers. So all I could do was just give it back to Him with my effort and with my focus out there on the field.”