After a week that saw the Minnesota Vikings part with a number of veteran players, a late-night move on Sunday saw them retain one of their own on the eve of NFL free agency getting underway.

Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network is reporting that linebacker Eric Wilson will be staying in purple on a three-year, $22.5 million deal that contains $12.5 million in guaranteed money. The deal keeps Wilson from hitting unrestricted free agency when the legal tampering period begins in a little less than twelve hours.

Wilson began his career with the Vikings, having signed with them as an undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati in 2017. He played with the Vikings through the 2020 season, and then had stops in Philadelphia, Houston, and New Orleans before landing with the Green Bay Packers from 2022 to 2024. He returned to the Vikings in 2025 and had an outstanding season in Brian Flores’ defense, racking up a combined 115 tackles and finishing third on the team with 6.5 sacks. He also had 17 tackles for loss and forced four fumbles.

Flores made outstanding use of Wilson as a blitzer this past season, as his 83 blitzes were the most of any player on the team, and his 17 quarterback pressures trailed only Jonathan Greenard and Dallas Turner on the Vikings’ defense in that category. He will likely play much the same role for the Vikings this season as Flores will likely give him even more opportunities to wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks.

What do you think of the move to retain Eric Wilson for three more seasons on the Vikings’ defense, folks? He’ll turn 32 this season, but the amount of guaranteed money in the deal doesn’t appear to be a whole lot. I think he’s pretty well-suited for his role in this defense and bringing him back was a pretty good call. Let us know what you think!

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