Vikings Homecomer Suddenly Has Big Shoes to Fill
The Minnesota Vikings enter this week’s contest against the Atlanta Falcons with a full injury report, and various key players will be forced to sit out the game. Among those is linebacker Blake Cashman, and an old and new friend is primed to challenge the fact that Cashman is nearly impossible to replace.
Vikings Homecomer Suddenly Has Big Shoes to Fill
Eric Wilson was surprisingly signed in March. It’s his second stint with the Vikings after a few years travelling around the league. He was once an undrafted free agent find of ex-GM Rick Spielman, and contributed to Mike Zimmer’s defense. Wilson spent the last three seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores was asked about the succession plan without Cashman in the mix, and he pointed to Wilson.
Eric is a seasoned veteran in every way,” Flores said on Thursday. “He’s as professional, mature a guy as I’ve been around. And he can play some football. I think he’s just got a real innate, instinctive feel to the game. I think we saw that on Monday night, but we’ve really seen that the entire training camp.”
Cashman is hard to replace because he is one of the few linebackers who actually have the mental and physical capabilities to play Flores’ zone coverages. Ivan Pace Jr. is not as polished in coverage, and no matter how well Wilson played on Sunday, once Cashman was out, he is no Cashman.
But that’s the NFL. Backups have to play sooner or later because everyone’s getting bitten by the injury bug at some point. Teams plan for every injury, and they got Wilson because they believe he can provide solid play if one of the starters misses some time. Kamu Grugier-Hill held that position last year, and when either of the linebackers was out, Flores deployed three safeties most of the time to avoid playing him.
Wilson, however, actually logged 25 defensive snaps in Week 1, pretty much matching the number of snaps Cashman missed. He also took over the green dot responsibilities and relayed the plays from Flores to his teammates.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell was not surprised to see the veteran do well. He noted after the game, “That’s why we went and got him. E-Wil has been such a critical addition. You’re always looking for that veteran presence. I don’t know if we win the football game unless you have Eric Wilson.”
Wilson made five tackles (one tackle for loss) and blocked a punt.
Barring any surprise, it will be his job for the next four games. Cashman is eligible to return after the bye week, right in time for the Philadelphia Eagles game in Week 7. Against the defending Super Bowl champions, the Vikings certainly want their top unit on the field.
Wilson joined the Vikings in 2017 and left the Vikings following the 2020 season. In the 2020 campaign, he was a full-time starter because of Anthony Barr’s injury. After leaving, he signed with the Eagles. Halfway through his first season there, Philadelphia strangely said goodbye to their starting linebacker, and the Texans claimed him off waivers.
His next stint was with the Saints, but he only managed to get a practice squad slot. The Packers snatched the defender in October 2022 when they desperately needed some depth. Prior to his recent free-agency journey, he had been with the Packers until the past offseason.
Despite his status as an undrafted player, Wilson has had a nice career, already spending eight seasons in the league. He played in 126 contests with 39 starts. On his resume are 405 tackles, 11 sacks, 28 tackles for loss, and five interceptions. Wilson has logged nearly 2,800 defensive snaps.
But not just Wilson is sliding up on the depth chart, so are the other depth players, too. Sixth-rounder Kobe King and undrafted rookie Austin Keys are suddenly close to seeing the field. The Vikings also added experienced defender Sione Takitaki following the Cashman injury. He’s on the practice squad.
Wilson was fine in his first game with the Vikings, but we’ll have to see if he can do it for a four-game stretch. He’ll turn 31 later this month.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.