Eric Wilson, Minnesota Vikings
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Eric Wilson #55 of the Minnesota Vikings reacts after a stop against the New York Giants.
The Minnesota Vikings have made a lot of headlines in recent days for severing ties with multiple players, or planning to, ahead of the 2026 offseason. Late Sunday night, the Vikings went in a different direction with Eric Wilson.
One of several key veteran contributors for the Vikings, Wilson enjoyed a career resurgence during the 2025 season.
Now, he will get an opportunity to prove it was not a fluke.
Vikings Bring Back Former UDFA Eric Wilson
Eric Wilson Packers Roster Moves Packers Signings Vikings Signings
GettyEric Wilson #45 of the Green Bay Packers looks on after a game against the Seahawks.
“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 in a new deal done by @RyanWilliamsA1 of @AthletesFirst,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported on X on March 8.
“Eric Wilson was released by the #Eagles in 2021, had a brief stint with the #Texans and then spent three seasons with the #Packers. Back with the #Vikings last season, he had a career year with 6.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles. Now gets his biggest career payday at age 31.”
Wilson, who turns 32 in September, had 115 total tackles and 4 forced fumbles for the Vikings during the 2025 campaign.
He was an advanced metrics darling, too.
Per Tony Holzman-Escareno and NextGen Stats, Wilson had 6.5 sacks, 40 pressures (both most among traditional LB), 4.4 yds/target allowed in coverage (2nd-fewest in NFL, minimum 250 coverage snaps), and 20 run stuffs (T-3rd most in NFL, run stuff: tackles of 0 or neg yards).”
The Athletic’s Daniel Popper ranked Wilson 73rd among all free agents and sixth among linebackers this offseason.
“Wilson is a downhill off-ball linebacker who can blitz and defend the run,” Popper wrote in February. “He is more limited as a coverage player. He has sideline-to-sideline speed and attacks plays in front of him. Wilson also got some edge work in coordinator Brian Flores’ scheme. Wilson is undersized, which limits him when he is asked to take on climbing guards and centers in the run game.”
Popper projected a three-year, $19.5 million pact for Wilson.
Spotrac projected Wilson’s market value at a one-year, $4.2 million pact. He has earned $14.1 million in his career, underscoring how big a raise the former undrafted free agent and journeyman is getting on his new deal.
Kevin O’Connell Praises Eric Wilson
Kevin O'Connell, Minnesota Vikings
GettyMinnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell reacts against the Los Angeles Rams.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell spoke candidly about Wilson and all that he did for and brought to the team in his return.
O’Connell said that what Wilson did after returning was “spectacular.”
“Eric was phenomenal for us,” O’Connell told KFAN’s Paul Allen at the combine in February. “He started out his career here, and just the feelings of a lot of the folks that were around him when he was a Viking, it made it a really easy decision to get E Wil back.
“He’s one of our most consistent players. Did so much for our team. Versatile. Consistently showing up every single week, doing different jobs, but playing at a really high level and demonstrating a lot of those things from a play-style standpoint. He’s incredibly smart. He’s, you know, a guy that loves playing the game of football and enjoys it every single day. He makes your team better. He makes your building better.”
O’Connell said he expected an active market for Wilson’s services, but the Vikings were proactive to avoid dealing with that.