Minnesota Vikings Wilson was selected by the
Minnesota Vikings in the eighth round (210th overall) of the
1981 NFL draft. As a rookie, he appeared in three games while being on the active roster for all 16 contests. Wilson saw his first action against the
Oakland Raiders, replacing an injured
Steve Dils. In 1982, Wilson did not appear in any game during the strike-shortened season. In 1983, he only played in the season finale against the
Cincinnati Bengals, contributing to the 20–14 victory in his first career start. In
1984, Wilson started five out of eight contests. In
1985, he was diagnosed with
type 1 diabetes. He appeared in 4 games, with his only start coming in place of an injured
Tommy Kramer against the
Philadelphia Eagles, in which he led the team to one of the greatest comebacks in franchise history. The Eagles held a 23–0 advantage with 8:23 minutes to play. Wilson directed 3 scoring drives, after being benched at halftime in favor of rookie 3rd-string quarterback
Steve Bono, but after Bono only completed one pass out of ten, Wilson was put back in the game with less than 12 minutes remaining, throwing 3 touchdown passes to achieve a 28–23 victory. In
1986, he appeared in 9 games, including 3 starts in place of an injured Kramer. He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week in the season finale 33–17 win against the
New Orleans Saints, after replacing an injured Kramer and having the best game of his career at the time, throwing for 361 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was mostly the backup quarterback until
1987, when Kramer started 5 games to Wilson's 7 contests, including the playoffs. He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week after the 21–16 win against the
Los Angeles Rams, in which he threw a 41-yard game winning touchdown to
wide receiver Hassan Jones with less than a minute to play. He threw for 3 touchdowns in the season opener against the
Detroit Lions and in the Week 12 game against the
Chicago Bears. He led the Vikings in rushing in the Week 14 game against the
Detroit Lions with 8 carries for 55 yards and in the season finale against the
Washington Redskins with 10 carries for 75 yards. He guided the team to the
NFC Championship Game after upsetting the top-seeded 13–2
San Francisco 49ers in the
divisional round of the playoffs, finally succumbing 17–10 to the eventual
Super Bowl XXII champion Washington Redskins. In
1988, Wilson started 10 games to Kramer's 6 contests, while missing 2 games with a separated shoulder. He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week after the 49–20 win against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, completing 22-of-30 passes for 335 yards, and 3 touchdowns. He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Month for November, when he completed 73-of-112 passes (65.1%) for 1,009 yards, 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, while leading the Vikings to a 4–0 record. His best game came in a 44–17 win against the
Detroit Lions in Week 10, completing 28-of-35 passes (80%) for a career-high 391 yards, 2 touchdowns and one interception, including a stretch in which he had 14 straight completions. He finished a
Pro Bowl season, completing 204-of-332 passes for 2,746 yards, 15 touchdowns and 9 interceptions, ranking as the NFC leader with a 91.5
passer rating. In
1989, he started 12 out of 14 games, missing 2 contests with a finger injury. He led the team in pass attempts (362), completions (194), passing yards (2,543) and passing touchdowns (9) for the third consecutive year. He had a season-high 42 attempts in the 7–38 loss against the
Chicago Bears. He led the team in rushing with 8 carries for 55 yards in the 24–10 win against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In
1990, he started the first 3 games before injuring his right thumb against the
Chicago Bears.
Rich Gannon replaced him while he was out. Wilson returned to action in the second half of the 13–26 loss against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 15, throwing for 374 yards, including a career-long 75-yard touchdown pass to
Hassan Jones. He started the next game against the
Los Angeles Raiders before suffering a separated right shoulder that forced him to miss the season finale. In
1991, Wilson started the first 5 games, throwing for 825 yards with 3 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, before losing the starting position to Gannon. The Vikings released him on July 8, 1992. He finished his Vikings career completing 1,391 passes on 2,428 attempts for 17,283 yards, 99 touchdowns and 102 interceptions. He appeared in 9 games and started the last three throwing for 1,366 yards, 13 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. In a game against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 13, 1992, he became the first Falcons quarterback to throw five touchdown passes in a game.
New Orleans Saints On April 12, 1993, Wilson signed with the
New Orleans Saints. He earned the starter job over
Steve Walsh and although he directed the Saints to a 5–0 winning streak, the team only won three more games to finish with an 8–8 record, which would be Wilson's last season as a regular starter. In Week 16 of the
1993 season, Wilson was struggling against the
New York Giants in a game on
Monday Night Football. He suffered a knee injury during the game and the fans at the Superdome began cheering when he was injured. Saints head coach
Jim Mora called the fans who cheered Wilson's injury, "Sick, sick, sick people. Mentally sick." On March 18, 1994, the Saints waived Wilson. Wilson was re-signed on April 13. He appeared in four games as the backup quarterback during the season. He was released on March 20, 1995.
Dallas Cowboys On May 22, 1995, Wilson was signed by the
Dallas Cowboys. He was a part of the
Super Bowl XXX winning team. Wilson only started one game during his three seasons with the Cowboys, when the team played its backups in the 1996 season finale against the
Washington Redskins, resulting in a 37–10 loss.
Oakland Raiders On July 6, 1998, Wilson signed with the
Oakland Raiders. After
Jeff George suffered a groin injury, backup
Donald Hollas struggled in the second half of the season and also suffered a wrist injury in his last start against the
Miami Dolphins, giving Wilson the opportunity to start the last three games, passing for 425 yards, five touchdowns, four interceptions, and producing a 1–2 record. In 1999, Wilson returned to the third-string
quarterback role once again. He was limited with a groin injury during the season and did not appear in any game. Wilson announced his retirement on December 30, at the age of 40. ==NFL career statistics==