Tag: Eric Wilson

Vikings LB Eric Wilson listed as a player Minnesota should re-sign

What should the Minnesota Vikings do about linebacker Eric Wilson?

Minnesota has a lot of tough decisions to make this offseason — with some of the toughest being at linebacker.

Should the Vikings restructure with Anthony Barr, keep him on his current deal or let him go?

That also leads to a difficult choice to make about Eric Wilson, who’s coming off a career year but is due to be a free agent this offseason. Wilson could command such a high price that it seems as though Minnesota can only keep Barr or Wilson.

Despite the potential for a big contract, Bleacher Report thinks the Vikings should try to hang onto Wilson. Here’s what the outlet said:

“The Vikings can likely save a few million bucks per season by rolling with Wilson instead of Harris, who made $11.4 million under the franchise tag in 2020. Beyond that, they could part ways with the seemingly declining Anthony Barr to free up another $7.3 million and pair Wilson with Eric Kendricks in the linebacker corps. 

Those savings would make it easier for a losing team to improve with new additions in 2021.”

Personally, I don’t think the Vikings will be keeping Anthony Harris or Wilson. But if I had to choose, the team should re-sign Harris. Wilson has value, but also has flaws.

ESPN lists best free agency fits for the Vikings, Anthony Harris and Eric Wilson

How do you think the Minnesota Vikings’ free agency in 2021 will shake out? Eric Wilson, Anthony Harris and others are pending free agents.

With the way the salary cap is looking, the Vikings most likely do not have the benefit of re-signing each and every member of its free agency class.

That means Minnesota has to pick and choose which pending free agents are the best fits for them — whether that’s looking outside the team or trying to retain talent. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler attempted to make a case for which pending free agents from the Vikings will fit where. He even tabbed a free agent outside of the Minnesota organization to be a good fit for the team.

Here is Fowler’s best fits for Anthony Harris and Eric Wilson, followed by a free agent who could go to the Vikings:

What the Vikings should do about Eric Wilson

Here is what the Minnesota Vikings should do about Eric Wilson for the 2021 NFL season and beyond.

Minnesota re-signed Eric Wilson when the linebacker was a restricted free agent last offseason. This offseason, retaining Wilson’s services will be a bit more complicated.

The Vikings are in the midst of a cash-strapped 2021 and the team needs to focus on which assets to keep and which to move on from. Minnesota’s defense struggled in 2020, but Wilson was a bright spot at times. He finished with three sacks, three interceptions, nine QB hits and eight passes defended.

Wilson is set to be a free agent in March. Earlier this offseason, Over The Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald told Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press that Wilson’s value is at $9 million or $10 million a year.

See where Vikings S Anthony Harris, LB Eric Wilson rank on ESPN’s free agency rankings

Minnesota Vikings S Anthony Harris and LB Eric Wilson both ranked in ESPN’s top free agency list.

With several notable players becoming free agents, the Vikings will be left with some tough decisions.

LB Eric Wilson is set to become a free agent in March. Will the team retain him or choose to keep Anthony Barr and go from there? Wilson is coming off a career year and could be looking at a big contract.

S Anthony Harris is another one. He is coming off a down year, but he may command a pretty big contract still. Minnesota has a tough decision in deciding whether to keep Harris, especially when the team currently has Harrison Smith under contact.

ESPN’s Kevin Seifert put Harris and Wilson in the outlet’s recent free agency rankings. Here’s what it said about the two:

Vikings LB Anthony Barr’s contract listed as the worst on the team

Do you think the Minnesota Vikings will restructure with LB Anthony Barr?

Anthony Barr is a good linebacker, but is he worth his contract?

As it stands, his cap hit for 2021 will be more than $15 million, per Over The Cap. His contract goes up to $15.6 million in 2022, then it goes to $18.1 million the following season, via Over The Cap. Bleacher Report thinks that’s an issue. The outlet tabbed Barr’s contract as the worst deal the Vikings have. Here’s what it said about Barr:

“But Barr’s big-play production took a hit after he got his big payday in 2019—just 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and an interception. He missed almost all of the 2020 season after he tore his pectoral muscle in Week 2. And while Barr is a capable linebacker, he’s not a game-changer.

For a Vikings team that’s already upside down against the salary cap, Barr’s cap hit … is more albatross than boost.”

The Vikings have an important decision to make at linebacker this offseason. Minnesota has to probably pick between Eric Wilson or Barr, due to the team’s 2021 salary cap space. Even if the Vikings want to keep Barr, it might be time for them to restructure with the linebacker.

See where Vikings S Anthony Harris ranks on PFF’s free agent rankings

Despite an off year, Pro Football Focus is still giving plenty of respect to Minnesota Vikings S Anthony Harris.

The Vikings gave the franchise tag to Anthony Harris this season, so now the team has a decision to make.

Harris is set to become an unrestricted free agent in March. Despite a down year in 2020, Harris could be looking at a big day.

Pro Football Focus is still giving plenty of respect to Harris. The outlet tabbed him as the seventh best free agent in this year’s class. Here is what it said about the Minnesota safety:

“He has been a perfect free safety within Mike Zimmer’s defense, which employs a lot of split-safety looks and has been particularly adept at making plays on the football, with coverage being by far his biggest asset. Harris has shown the ability to read route concepts and quarterbacks at the same time, putting himself in position to make plays. He should be primed for a big deal.”

Minnesota linebacker Eric Wilson was not on the list, which makes sense considering it was compiled by Pro Football Focus. Despite Wilson’s three picks, three sacks and eight passes defended, he had a PFF grade of 53.5. Some of that can be contributed to his missed tackles and poor run defense.

ESPN explains how the Vikings will look different in 2021

The Minnesota Vikings are gearing up to look a lot different in 2021. Do you think that will lead to a turnaround?

In the Mike Zimmer era, the Vikings have been known to have on and off years.

Zimmer’s teams have missed out on the postseason in even-numbered years, only to earn a berth in odd-numbered years. This year, Minnesota missed out on the playoffs after winning a game in the postseason in 2019.

So there is good news. Each year a Zimmer-led Vikings team misses the playoffs, Minnesota has recalibrated and made it the next time around. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler thinks that could happen again.

Fowler tabbed the Vikings as one of the teams that will look very different in 2021. When Fowler had to categorize Minnesota’s overhaul, he placed it in the “Surprisingly comfortable despite losing record” category. Here’s what he wrote:

“The Vikings are in a tough spot with DE Danielle Hunter, who is underpaid at $14 million per year. The Vikings planned to pay him at some point, but his season-ending neck surgery complicates matters. Make sure he is healthy and comfortable with his contract, then let Harris walk and attempt to re-sign (Eric) Wilson. Doing any of this will be tough for a team well over the cap for 2021. Cutting veterans such as tackle Riley Reiff and tight end Kyle Rudolph appears in order.”

Reiff is a tough player to let go of, especially after the 2020 he had, but the move makes sense. Rudolph is also hard, but the young tight end unit playing well eases the blow.

The Vikings might have to make both of those moves and not even hang onto Wilson. Re-signing the linebacker would likely mean moving on or restructuring with Anthony Barr. No matter what it comes down to, this Minnesota team will look at lot different in 2021. Does that mean a turnaround season? It’s hard to say as of now.

Highest graded Vikings from the Week 17 win over the Lions

See the highest graded Minnesota Vikings players from the win over the Detroit Lions in Week 17.

The Vikings ended their season on a high note Sunday.

The team moved to 7-9 with a victory over the Lions. There were no playoff stakes to this game as both teams were already eliminated.

Though it would have been nice for the Vikings to lose and get a better draft position, the team at least got to see how certain players adjusted to bigger roles.

From the Vikings young tight end unit to the linebacking corps on defense, Minnesota was forced to utilize a more inexperienced lineup and the team still pulled off a victory.

Here are some of the highest graded qualifying players from the game, as reported by Pro Football Focus.

Vikings LB Eric Wilson talks about free agency

Minnesota Vikings LB Eric Wilson’s contract is set to expire in March. Do you want the Vikings to re-sign him?

The Vikings re-signed linebacker Eric Wilson for this season and the team is probably glad they did.

Wilson has been the Minnesota best linebacker at points — with Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr both missing time. Wilson has three picks, eight passes defended, three sacks and nine QB hits this season. However, his PFF grade of 51.4 isn’t the best.

Wilson is due to become a free agent in March. He will be coming off a pretty good 2020 season, so there is some question as to what his value will be in free agency. He talked about potentially becoming a free agent with reporters:

“It’s a great opportunity,” Wilson said, via the Vikings Twitter account. “Really, we’ll see what happens. There’s a great opportunity to be successful if it’s here (in Minnesota). You know, that’s wonderful. … That would be great if there was an opportunity that made sense for the team and for me.”

With how the Vikings’ 2021 cap situation is, the team may have to choose between Barr or Wilson. That will certainly be an interesting part of this offseason.

Vikings LB Eric Wilson will be a free agent in March. What is his value?

Minnesota Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson’s contract runs out in March. The Vikings have a tough decision to make in the offseason.

In the midst of a turnover-ridden offseason, Minnesota kept a useful player for its defense: linebacker Eric Wilson. That said, I don’t even think the Vikings knew just how helpful Wilson would turn out to be.

Linebacker Anthony Barr went down with a season ending injury. Linebacker Eric Kendricks has missed the last four games. With those two gone, Wilson has arguably been the team’s best linebacker. With Barr gone and Kendricks in the lineup, Wilson would shine on the Minnesota defense at times.

Wilson has three interceptions, eight passes defended, three sacks and nine QB hits this season. His PFF grade of 51.4 isn’t the best, though.

So, what should the Vikings do this offseason? Wilson’s contract runs out this March, and I think it’s safe to say he will command a bigger salary than the one he got this year: just over $3.2 million for 2020, per Over The Cap.

Over The Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald thinks it could be a lot more than that. He told Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press that Wilson’s value is at $9 million or $10 million a year.

Barr is set to make $12.3 million in 2021, via Over The Cap. If the Vikings want to pay Wilson $9 million or $10 million a year, that is an awful lot of money to allocate to the linebacker position.

It’s also money the Vikings don’t have for 2021 at the moment. With rookies and other key players that need to be signed, Minnesota would have to move some players around.

It seems like Minnesota has a decision to make in that case: Does the team want to keep Barr or re-sign Wilson? The Vikings are gearing up for another offseason of key personnel decisions. The ones they make for the linebacker spots will be important.