Eric Wilson (linebacker, born 1994) explained

Eric Wilson (linebacker, born 1994) should not be confused with Eric Wilson (linebacker, born 1962).

Eric Wilson
Current Team:Green Bay Packers
Number:45
Position:Linebacker
Birth Date:26 September 1994
Birth Place:Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Height Ft:6
Height In:1
Weight Lbs:230
High School:Lee M. Thurston
(Redford, Michigan)
College:Northwestern (2012)
Cincinnati (2013–2016)
Undraftedyear:2017
Pastteams:
Status:Active
Highlights:
  • First-team All-AAC (2016)
  • Second-team All-AAC (2015)
Statseason:2023
Statlabel1:Total tackles
Statvalue1:328
Statlabel2:Sacks
Statvalue2:9.0
Statlabel3:Forced fumbles
Statvalue3:2
Statlabel4:Fumble recoveries
Statvalue4:3
Statlabel5:Pass deflections
Statvalue5:9
Statlabel6:Interceptions
Statvalue6:4
Pfr:WilsEr00

Eric André Wilson (born September 26, 1994) is an American football linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Northwestern and Cincinnati, and signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He has also played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans, and New Orleans Saints.

Early years

Wilson played high school football at Lee M. Thurston High School in Redford, Michigan. He recorded 64 tackles and four sacks in his senior year. He played safety, linebacker, and wide receiver at Lee M. Thurston.[1] He also earned All-State, All-Conference, All-Metro and Team MVP honors while at Lee M. Thurston. He lettered three years in football, four years in track and one year in basketball and was a long jump State Champion.[2]

College career

Wilson redshirted for the Northwestern Wildcats of Northwestern University in 2012. He transferred to the University of Cincinnati in 2013, where he played for the Cincinnati Bearcats from 2013 to 2016. He sat out the 2013 season due to NCAA transfer rules.[2] He was named Second-team All-American Athletic Conference (AAC) in 2015 and First-team All-AAC in 2016. He played in 38 games, starting 24, during his college career. He graduated from Cincinnati in December 2016 with a degree in sports management.[3]

Professional career

Pre-draft

Wilson was rated the 21st best outside linebacker in the 2017 NFL draft by NFLDraftScout.com. The website also predicted that he would be selected in the seventh round. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com predicted that he would be drafted in the fifth or sixth round.[4]

Minnesota Vikings

Wilson signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent on May 1, 2017.[5] Wilson made his first career sack in week 11 of the 2018 season against the Chicago Bears when he sacked quarterback Mitchell Trubisky in a 25–20 loss.

In week 3 of the 2019 season against the Oakland Raiders, Wilson recorded 2 sacks on Derek Carr in the 34–14 win.[6] In week 17 against the Chicago Bears, Wilson recorded a team high 12 tackles and sacked Trubisky once during the 21–19 loss.[7]

On March 16, 2020, the Vikings placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Wilson. He signed the one-year contract on May 8, 2020.[8] In Week 2 against the Indianapolis Colts, Wilson recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Philip Rivers during the 28–11 loss.[9] In Week 5 against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football, Wilson recorded a sack on Russell Wilson and intercepted a pass thrown by Wilson during the 27–26 loss.[10] In Week 8 against the Green Bay Packers, Wilson recovered a fumble forced by teammate D. J. Wonnum on Aaron Rodgers late in the fourth quarter to secure a 28–22 Vikings' win.[11]

Philadelphia Eagles

Wilson signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on April 14, 2021.[12] [13] He was named the starting middle linebacker alongside T. J. Edwards. He started two of seven games played before being released on November 3, 2021.[14]

Houston Texans

On November 4, 2021, Wilson was claimed off waivers by the Houston Texans.[15]

New Orleans Saints

On May 16, 2022, Wilson signed with the New Orleans Saints.[16] He was released on August 30, 2022, and signed to the practice squad the next day.[17] [18]

Green Bay Packers

On October 4, 2022, Wilson was signed by the Packers off of the Saints' practice squad.[19] On October 16, he blocked a punt by Braden Mann during a Week 6 loss to the New York Jets.[20] On March 25, 2023, Wilson re-signed with the Packers.[21] On January 20, Eric recovered a fumble against the San Francisco 49ers, during the second round of the NFL playoffs.[22]

On March 23, 2024, Wilson re-signed with the Packers.[23]

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Year Team GP GS Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Total Solo Ast Sck SFTY PDef Int Yds Avg Lng TDs FF FR
MIN16 0 8 5 3 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MIN16 4 42 31 11 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MIN16 6 62 36 26 3.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
MIN16 15 122 62 60 3.0 0 8 3 23 7.7 16 0 1 2
HOU7 0 3 2 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PHI7 2 43 18 25 0.0 0 1 1 7 7.0 7 0 0 0
GB13 0 17 9 8 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
GB17 0 31 16 15 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 108 27 328 179 149 9.0 0 9 4 30 7.5 16 0 2 3
Source: pro-football-reference.com

Postseason

Year Team GP GS Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Total Solo Ast Sck SFTY PDef Int Yds Avg Lng TDs FF FR
MIN2 0 1 0 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MIN2 2 13 9 4 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
GB2 0 6 5 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Total 6 2 20 14 6 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Source: pro-football-reference.com

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Looking at Wilsons transfer . northwestern.rivals.com . July 23, 2013 . October 17, 2017 . Vaccher, Louie . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20171018003039/https://northwestern.rivals.com/news/looking-at-wilsons-transfer . October 18, 2017 .
  2. Web site: Eric Wilson . gobearcats.com . October 17, 2017 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20171017230749/http://www.gobearcats.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=864 . October 17, 2017 .
  3. Web site: Eric Wilson . vikings.com . October 17, 2017 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20171017230748/http://www.vikings.com/team/roster/eric-wilson/acabe4eb-d022-4220-bae0-c92f273733ff/ . October 17, 2017 .
  4. Web site: Eric Wilson . National Football League . October 17, 2017 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20171017231938/http://www.nfl.com/draft/2017/profiles/eric-wilson?id=2558775 . October 17, 2017 .
  5. Web site: Vikings Agree To Terms With 13 Rookie Free Agents. Vikings.com. May 1, 2017. October 20, 2017.
  6. Web site: NFL rushing leader Cook leads Vikes romp past Raiders 34–14 . September 22, 2019 . ESPN . September 22, 2019.
  7. Web site: Bears edge Vikings 21–19 on Piñeiro FG with 10 seconds left . December 29, 2019. Associated Press . ESPN . December 29, 2019.
  8. News: Alper, Josh . Eric Wilson signs Vikings RFA tender . NBCSports.com . May 8, 2020 . May 9, 2020.
  9. Web site: Minnesota Vikings at Indianapolis Colts – September 20th, 2020 . September 22, 2020 . Pro-Football-Reference.com . en.
  10. Web site: Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks – October 11th, 2020 . October 11, 2020 . Pro-Football-Reference.com . en.
  11. Web site: Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers – November 1st, 2020 . November 3, 2020 . Pro-Football-Reference.com . en.
  12. News: Spadaro, Dave . Jordan Howard, Eric Wilson highlight Nick Sirianni's desire for competition on roster . PhiladelphiaEagles.com . April 7, 2021 . April 15, 2021.
  13. Web site: 2021 NFL Transactions: Signings – April . National Football League . April 14, 2021.
  14. Web site: Eagles waive LB Eric Wilson. PhiladelphiaEagles.com. November 3, 2021.
  15. Web site: Houston Texans Transactions (11-4-2021). HoustonTexans.com. November 4, 2021.
  16. Web site: New Orleans Saints announce roster moves. NewOrleansSaints.com. May 16, 2022.
  17. Web site: New Orleans Saints make roster reductions to 53. NewOrleansSaints.com. August 30, 2022.
  18. Web site: New Orleans Saints announce practice squad additions. NewOrleansSaints.com. August 31, 2022.
  19. Web site: Packers sign LB Eric Wilson. packers.com . October 4, 2022 . October 4, 2022.
  20. Web site: Eric Wilson surges through Jets' line to block punt . packers.com . October 16, 2022 . October 16, 2022.
  21. Web site: Packers re-sign LB Eric Wilson. packers.com . March 25, 2023 . March 25, 2023 .
  22. Web site: Packers LB Eric Wilson has the hustle play of the year on a huge fumble recovery. sports.yahoo.com . January 21, 2024 . January 21, 2024 .
  23. Web site: Packers re-sign LB Eric Wilson. Packers.com. March 23, 2024.