According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Eagles have signed former Vikings linebacker Eric WIlson. Here is all you need to know.
Eric WIlson will turn 27 when the new season starts and is entering the prime of his career. With that in mind, it’s beyond encouraging that he’s coming off of a stellar campaign in which he racked up 122 tackles along with 3 INT’s, 8 pass breakups, and 9 QB hits.
Wilson becomes the second former Vikings player to join the Eagles this offseason, joining Anthony Harris, and the connection is obvious. Jonathan Gannon, who joined the Eagles as their new defensive coordinator, is a bloom from the Mike Zimmer Tree, and is expected to implement a version of his renowned cover-2 defense. This means that not only are Safeties expected to be able to hold their own deep down field, but that the linebackers will be asked to play plenty of zonal looks as well as seeing more opportunities to blitz, something which Jim Schwartz rarely decided to do.
Signed to a one-year deal worth up to $3.25M, Wilson will likely act as a bridge linebacker to man the middle while the future heir to the Throne develops. The Colts really cherished strong linebacker play as evidenced by the rise of Darius Leonard, and it’s not like Minnesota had any slouches at the position either. Signing a linebacker who was expected to fly off the shelf to such a cheap deal can only be regarded as a positive.
The Eagles are able to add an seasoned linebacker at the peak of his career for minimal cost, providing a veteran who can actually lead what is a very young and inexperienced group with the potential upside of earning a longer stay if things go his way. It’s also probably a sign that the team won’t be taking a linebacker in the early rounds of the draft (shocking, I know!)
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