Vikings To Re-Sign LB Eric Wilson

Minneapolis — The Minnesota Vikings are keeping Eric Wilson in purple for the foreseeable future, agreeing to a three-year, $22.5 million contract that contains $12.5 million fully guaranteed, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo reported on the eve of free agency. The pact rewards the 31-year-old for a 2025 renaissance that saw him log the heaviest workload and most productive season of his decade-long career.

Wilson returned to the Twin Cities last spring on a modest one-year, $2.6 million deal after spending the previous four seasons bouncing between Philadelphia, Houston and Green Bay on a succession of one-year contracts. The Cincinnati product immediately reclaimed a starting role, playing 965 defensive snaps—his highest total since 2020—while forming a reliable tandem with Minneapolis native Blake Cashman. When Cashman missed the opener with injury, Wilson stepped in and never relinquished the job, ultimately relegating rookie Ivan Pace to a rotational spot.

The numbers validated the coaching staff’s faith. Wilson set career bests with 6.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss, the latter figure leading all off-ball linebackers and ranking sixth league-wide. He finished with 115 total tackles, thriving as a blitzer in Brian Flores’ pressure packages. Pro Football Focus graded him 44th among 88 qualified off-ball linebackers.

The new contract represents a dramatic financial leap. Wilson’s prior single-season high was the $3.26 million he earned on a second-round restricted-free-agent tender from Minnesota in 2020. His three subsequent Packers deals never topped $1.5 million per year, and the one-year arrangement he signed with Philadelphia in 2021 was worth $2.75 million—less than that 2020 tender. Now guaranteed eight figures, the veteran has completed one of the more improbable late-career turnarounds in recent memory.

Originally an undrafted free-agent signee by the Rick Spielman-Mike Zimmer regime in 2017, Wilson carved out a niche on special teams before making 10 starts alongside Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks from 2017-19. He became a full-time starter in 2020, piling up 122 tackles in 15 games, but found lukewarm interest the following March. A series of short-term stops followed until Minnesota—now with Flores orchestrating the defense—brought him home last offseason.

With Flores set to return on a top-market coordinator salary, the Vikings will again rely on Wilson’s experience and versatility behind a front that values linebacker pressure. The deal also locks in continuity alongside Cashman, giving Minnesota a proven pairing as it looks to build on last season’s defensive strides.