Vikings Kick Off Free Agency by Signing Familiar Face
As fans awaited the start of the NFL’s “legal tampering” phase in free agency on Monday, the Minnesota Vikings re-signed one of their own Sunday night. Linebacker Eric Wilson is back in the mix, re-upped for three years.
Minnesota preserved key linebacker depth and kept a proven Flores fit in the middle of free agency.
Tentatively, Minnesota will roll into 2026 with a familiar setup at off-ball linebacker: Wilson and Blake Cashman.
Eric Wilson Gives the Vikings a Needed Piece Back
The Vikings still need an extra linebacker or two, but they could not let Wilson walk after his 2025 output.
Wilson Back in MIN
If you were pleased and pleasantly surprised by Wilson’s production last season, you are in luck and will get more of it.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert wrote Sunday, “Linebacker Eric Wilson is staying with the Minnesota Vikings, as the sides agreed to a three-year, $22.5 million contract Sunday ahead of NFL free agency, according to NFL Network. The deal includes $12.5 million fully guaranteed. Wilson, 31, had a career year in 2025 after returning to the Vikings, the team with which he had spent the first four years of his career.”
“After signing him to a one-year deal worth $2.6 million, team officials penciled him for a significant special teams role. But he entered the starting lineup in Week 2 after Blake Cashman suffered a hamstring injury and then displaced fellow inside linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. when Cashman returned four games later.”
The $12.5 million guaranteed basically makes Wilson’s agreement a two-year deal; he and the team can reevaluate his standing and age during the 2028 offseason.
Still a Skimpy LB Corps
Meanwhile, Minnesota still needs ILB help. If the regular season began today, defensive coordinator Brian Flores would trot out these men:
- Blake Cashman
- Eric Wilson
- Jacob Roberts
- Josh Ross
Roberts and Ross are fringe practice squaders, at best, so inside linebacker remains a roster need this offseason, despite the new contract for Wilson.
One-time undrafted gem Ivan Pace Jr. is also a free agent, and most fans expect him to depart the franchise this week.
Wilson’s 2025 Late-Career Breakout
Wilson joined the Vikings as a backup last offseason but concluded the 2025 season as a key defensive player.
Signed as a free agent, the Vikings initially planned to use him as a rotational linebacker behind Cashman and Pace Jr., with some special teams work. However, this changed quickly. By early October, Wilson’s importance was clear: opposing teams began accounting for him in their protection calls and blocking schemes.
The statistics confirmed his impact. Wilson’s relentless hustle allowed him to penetrate gaps and disrupt plays. Among linebackers, he led the league in sacks and pressures and ranked near the top in forced fumbles. Flores’ aggressive defense relies on speed and disruption, and Wilson became one of its most reliable assets.
At 31, he recorded career highs: 115 tackles, 17 for loss, 10 quarterback hits, 6.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles. This remarkable turnaround came just a year after he was viewed primarily as a backup and special teams player in Green Bay.
Our Janik Eckardt noted on Wilson, “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.”
Minnesota had every reason to re-sign him. From September to January, Wilson performed exceptionally, establishing himself as one of the team’s most consistent defensive players. Flores’ continued presence as defensive coordinator further solidified the decision.
Re-signing him was an obvious offseason priority, and the Vikings successfully secured his return. It’s also worth noting that Minnesota drafted Wilson nine years ago, so his NFL journey may start and stop in the same place.
Add Another in the Draft?
Of course, by employing two starting ILBs over the age of 30, Minnesota won’t have speed galore in the middle of the field. But the draft could be used in April to renew the pipeline.
These linebackers could be available to the Vikings:
- Sonny Styles (Ohio State)
- C.J. Allen (Georgia)
- Anthony Hill Jr. (Texas)
- Jake Golday (Cincinnati)
- Deontae Lawson (Alabama)
- Taurean York (Texas A&M)
- Harold Perkins (LSU)
- Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech)
Styles would require a trade up the draftboard, but stranger things have happened.
The Vikings could also call upon an affordable linebacker from Flores’s past stops for depth, such as free-agent Jerome Baker.
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