Former Chiefs wideout Albert Wilson calls it a career after seven NFL seasons

Former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Albert Wilson was always a great example of what can happen for any hard-working player if given an opportunity. Now, after seven NFL seasons, he's ready to close this chapter of his life.

Wilson said goodbye to the game of football, at least as an active player, earlier this week via a post on Instagram that announced his retirement.

Albert Wilson said goodbye to his professional football career via a post on Instagram earlier this week.

Wilson begins his post with a nod to the team that gave him his first real shot at playing professional football. "To the Kansas City Chiefs Organization, I want to thank you for kicking off this journey and giving me the only shot I ever needed," he wrote.

The Chiefs did "kick off this journey" by offering an undrafted free agent deal to Wilson after he went unselected in the 2014 NFL Draft. Wilson had turned heads at Georgia State with an incredible body of work with 6,235 all-purpose yards—good enough for the top 30 ever in NCAA football history. Wilson was a dynamic receiver at that level but was an even greater return man, and Chiefs general manager John Dorsey made sure he got a closer look after the draft.

Wilson would go on to play in 12 games during his rookie season and even started two of them. He finished the year with modest totals of 16 catches for 260 yards—solid numbers for a first-year UDFA. In 2015, Wilson would start 12 games for the Chiefs and came away with 35 catches for 451 yards and his first two receiving touchdowns of his career.

By the end of his rookie contract, Wilson had become a reliable receiver for the Chiefs who'd never once fumbled the ball, and that level of trusted production earned him a lucrative free agent deal from the Miami Dolphins to the tune of 3 years, $24 million.

Unfortunately for Wilson, injuries would mar his ability to ever live up to expectations in South Florida and both sides agreed to restructure his deal in his third season for a fraction of its original value.

Wilson would then opt out of the 2020 COVID-affected season only to return to Miami before spending short stints with the Minnesota Vikings and Las Vegas Raiders in 2022. After being out of football entirely in 2023, Wilson has now decided to retire.