Vikings Strike Before Free Agency Even Begins
The Minnesota Vikings didn’t wait for free agency to officially begin before making a major move to keep a key defensive playmaker in town.
Linebacker Eric Wilson is going nowhere.
National reporter Mike Garafolo broke the news on social media, “The #Vikings and LB Eric Wilson have agreed to terms on a three-year, $22.5 million deal with $12.5 million fully guaranteed, source says. In his second stint in Minnesota, more than doubles his previous average per year.”
Indeed, Wilson was a cheap signing a year ago. Thought to be a backup linebacker and special teamer, the Vikings got their former undrafted rookie, who wore the Packers uniform in years past, for a cheap one-year deal worth $2.6 million.
That bargain deal just turned into a major payday. The good news for the Vikings is that he earned it, emerging as one of the most impactful players in Brian Flores’ defense.
Wilson started 16 games last season and played in all 17, and logged 115 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, and 4 forced fumbles as one of the most productive linebackers in all of football. He actually led all linebackers in sacks, tackles for loss and QB pressures, thriving as a blitzer under Flores.
Early in the season, he was a backup behind Ivan Pace and Blake Cashman. The latter suffered an injury in Week 1 and Wilson entered the lineup in his place. When the 2024 addition returned, Flores rather sent Pace than Wilson back to the bench.
Throughout the season, he became a true difference-maker. Wilson was a key player in the first victory over the Detroit Lions when he consistently pressured Jared Goff and gave runner Jahmyr Gibbs all kinds of problems in pass protection. And that’s just one of many games he influenced.
Later in the season, when Jonathan Greenard was injured, Flores also deployed Wilson as an edge rusher in certain packages.
Initially, Wilson entered the league as an undrafted rookie in 2017. The Vikings snagged the linebacker out of Cincinnati, and he showed enough promise in the preseason to earn a spot. His contributions as a rookie took place on special teams, an area where he is still one of the better players in the league.
In 2018, his sophomore year, Wilson got some playing time in Mike Zimmer’s defense, playing the third linebacker spot next to Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr. He remained in that role in 2019. In 2020, Barr suffered a season-ending injury early in the season and Wilson became a full-time player for the first time in his career, logging 1,034 snaps on defense and a career-high 122 tackles.
In 2021, Wilson left and split that season between Philadelphia and Houston, mostly providing depth and special teams value. A year later, in 2022, the Packers signed him, once again providing depth. He played a noteworthy role with 558 snaps in 2024 and then returned to the Vikings last offseason to complete the circle.
He played like a genuine difference-maker in 2025, a conclusion supported by the Next Gen Stats analytics team, which included him on its All-Pro team.
Here’s the write-up: “Wilson emerged as a centerpiece of Brian Flores’ defense in 2025. The Vikings allowed 4.5 yards per play when Wilson was on the field, compared with 6.5 when he was off the field, the largest split of any defender with 100+ snaps on and off. Wilson’s 22.5% pressure rate was the highest by any player with 150+ pass rushes since 2022, his 4.4 yards per target allowed in coverage were the fewest among linebackers and his 20 run stuffs were the third-most in the NFL.”
After parting ways with defensive tackle Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, the Vikings keep another player from the front 7 in the building.
Keeping the linebacker duo of Wilson and Cashman together means the Vikings can concentrate on filling other holes in free agency.
Wilson, 31, is now under contract for three more seasons.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.