Eric Wilson (linebacker, born 1994)


Eric André Wilson is an American football linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He played college football at Northwestern and Cincinnati.

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. 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.

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. He was named Second Team All-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.

Professional career

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.
Wilson signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent on May 1, 2017.
Wilson made his first career sack in week 11 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.
In week 17 against the Chicago Bears, Wilson recorded a team high 12 tackles and sacked Trubisky once during the 21–19 loss.
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.