The Vikings Won a Bidding War for Surprise Breakout Player
Oftentimes, the NFL team offering the most money secures the services of the desired player. Not so in Minnesota with breakout defender Eric Wilson. Turns out he left some cash on the table.
The Vikings won despite getting outbid back in March when trying to bring Mr. Wilson back to the Twin Cities. GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was chatting with Paul Allen — affectionately referred to as the Voice of the Vikings — when the revelation came to light. Performing so well in 2025 will almost certainly result in a large raise for Wilson as he moves into free agency yet again.
The Vikings Won on Eric Wilson (Despite Being Outbid)
The normal discussion of a breakout candidate hovers around a young player, but that doesn’t apply to Wilson.
The veteran linebacker has been in the NFL for a long time. Initially, Wilson joined Mike Zimmer’s Vikings as a depth defender who got scooped up as an undrafted talent back in 2017. He then journeyed around the NFL, securing work in Houston, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Green Bay. In fact, his most recent stop ahead of the current season was with the Packers.
Welcoming Wilson back to Minnesota involved sending over a single-season deal coming in at $2.6 million. For a LB3, a nice payday. For a LB2 who also gets kicked up to edge rusher regularly, a total bargain.
Consider how Adofo-Mensah discussed the contract: “It was a great job by the pro staff and the coaching staff when that time of year we’ve gotta make sure that you’re aligned, especially that position. And Eric has just been an awesome addition. You’re talking about somebody who also loves Minnesota, he had actually better offers that he could have taken. He ended up coming here because he loves it here.”
Per Adofo-Mensah, the scouts and coaches were seeing the situation similarly in March: adding Wilson made a pile of sense. The contract to get him back to the Vikings was a nice raise over his 2024 compensation ($1,377,500) but still below what other teams were willing to pay.
Shortly thereafter, the GM praised Wilson for his “versatility” alongside being the “most well-conditioned athlete I’ve ever been around.” Proving capable of being a “chess piece” who can be an edge rusher and off-ball ‘backer is ultra impressive, especially given the role on specials. There’s even a quick quip about Wilson being a good basketball player.
Across sixteen games and fifteen starts, Eric Wilson has climbed up to 106 tackles. There have been 6.5 sacks alongside 9 quarterback hits. The tackles for loss are coming in at 16. Oh, and he has forced 4 fumbles, too.
Playing 920 snaps on defense means being out there for 90% of the work for defensive coordinator Brian Flores (who is in the news). There’s then the 173 snaps on specials teams, working out to 41% of the workload for special teams coordinator Matt Daniels.
Eric Wilson, 31, is moving toward a sizable raise in March of 2026. The Vikings appear likely to work toward some sort of contract solution, possibly by offloading beefy cap charges into future seasons.
At worst, Wilson is an excellent depth linebacker who is a menace on specials. At best, he’s a starting-level defender capable of making plays behind the line of scrimmage. Can Minnesota find enough nickles and dimes under the couch cushions to compensate him at a level that’s fair? Very likely, folks, that some team out there can pay more.
Maybe Minnesota will get a hometown discount on Eric Wilson yet again.
