Tag: Eric Wilson

Auburn lands commitment from grad transfer OL Eric Wilson

Auburn added some much-needed depth at offensive line on Tuesday with the commitment of Harvard transfer Eric Wilson.

Auburn is always in need of more offensive line depth, so they went to the easiest place to find help: the transfer portal.

Eric Wilson, a graduate transfer offensive lineman from Harvard, announced his commitment to the Tigers Tuesday morning, selecting them over a list of offers that also included LSU, Florida State, Minnesota and N.C. State.

The 6-foot-4, 280-pound Wilson told Rivals.com, “I love Auburn. My parents love Auburn. It’s a great school and a great community.”

While he primarily plays guard, earning second-team All-Ivy League honors as a junior last season and was named a semifinalist for the NFF William V. Campbell Trophy this year, he can also play center.

His decision gives Auburn three commits along the offensive line for the 2021 class, 4-star guard Jaeden Roberts and 3-star guard/tackle Garner Langlo.

He will join a group that has just one senior and could return every player, since this year does not count against any player’s elgibility.

Vikings LB Eric Wilson talks about his bigger role this year

Minnesota Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson has adjusted well to more reps at linebacker this season.

In 2019, Minnesota utilized the nickel package quite often, which oftentimes left Eric Wilson as the odd linebacker out.

Wilson still made plays on special teams and in a limited role on defense, but Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr were the two mainstay linebackers in Minnesota’s nickel defense. Wilson had to vie for reps at linebacker with players like Ben Gedeon.

Now, Barr is out for the season with an injury. Also, Gedeon was placed on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list. Minnesota still uses plenty of nickel defense, but Wilson has found himself as one of the linebackers who rarely comes off the field.

He recently talked about his bigger role in 2020 with reporters. Here is what he said:

“It’s great to be playing all three downs and all defensive snaps,” Wilson said, via the Vikings Twitter account. “I think that I’ve gotten a lot better. I’m learning a lot more. Even having played for however long I’ve played, I’m still learning a lot, and still getting better every play.”

Wilson has forced some key turnovers this season in his larger role. The Vikings haven’t had a plethora of bright spots, but one of them has been Wilson’s emergence.

Vikings LB Eric Wilson on the linebacker group: ‘It’s great to have stability’

Despite all the changes on the Vikings defense, the linebacker position group features some continuity.

This is a Vikings defense that underwent major changes this offseason.

There should be new players at defensive back and defensive line, but don’t expect too much change amongst the linebackers.

Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr have been the two mainstay players in the Vikings nickel defense. Below them on the depth chart was Eric Wilson, who is also a returner.

He recently spoke with reporters about the position group as a whole, and the veterans the group has:

“It’s great to have stability within our position group,” Wilson said. “We’ve been in the system so long, even though there are adjustments, especially game by game. If any rookies and newer players on the team, if they have any questions, we are able to let them know what should be done.”

Wilson will compete for linebacker spots on the depth chart with the likes of Ben Gedeon and Troy Dye. Wilson is the probable candidate for the third linebacker position.

Gallery: Everson Griffen’s 2019 season with the Vikings

It was reported on Wednesday that Everson Griffen had signed a deal with the Dallas Cowboys. Here are photos from his 2019 campaign.

[sigallery id=”Hc9UFRpBHB25YQgThbjNNQ” title=”Gallery: Everson Griffen’s final season with Vikings” type=”sigallery”]

Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson signs one-year restricted free agent tender

Wilson will earn a non-guaranteed $3.259 million for this season.

The Vikings gained exclusive rights to linebacker Eric Wilson this offseason after the deadline passed for restricted free agents to sign elsewhere.

That meant that it was almost a certainty that Wilson would sign his tender with the Vikings, and on Friday the team announced that the deal was official.

Wilson put pen to paper on a one-year restricted free agent tender, Minnesota announced.  Wilson will earn a non-guaranteed $3.259 million on his contract for this season, according to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune.

Minnesota has Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr as mainstay starters at linebacker, but other than that, the team has relied on a rotating cast at the third linebacker spot.

Wilson is among the many outside linebackers to start for the Vikings. He tallied 62 total tackles and three sacks in 2019, starting six games. It will be interesting to see whether Wilson can hold down the linebacker position next to Kendricks and Barr, or if someone else steps up in 2020.

Vikings hold exclusive rights to linebacker Eric Wilson after offer sheet deadline

The deadline has passed for linebacker Eric Wilson to sign offer sheets in free agency, so the Vikings have him exclusively.

He hasn’t signed his one-year tender yet, but Eric Wilson is now exclusively with the Vikings.

According to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press, Wilson’s second-round tender is for $3.259 million.

Restricted free agents can sign with any team, but their original team can offer tenders, which are qualifying offers. Let’s say a player accepts an offer from a different team. The original team then has five days to match the offer and keep the player if he is a restricted free agent.

Those five days are called the Right of First Refusal. If the offer is not matched by the original team, the player signs somewhere else and the original team receives draft-pick compensation.

Now that the deadline has passed for restricted free agents to sign elsewhere, the Vikings have exclusive rights to Wilson.

If Wilson chooses not to sign, he cannot play for any team besides the Vikings. He finished 2019 with 62 totals tackles and three sacks.

Vikings’ free-agency watch: Linebackers

The Vikings could be losing one of their key backups at the position.

Under contract:

The Vikings have their best two linebacker under contract, which is good news.

Anthony Barr has four more years left on his contract and has a cap hit of $12.7 million in 2020.

Eric Kendricks, the 2019 All-Pro, is in the second year of a five-year, $50 million deal. He has a cap hit of $10 million next season at age 28.

Cameron Smith and Ben Gedeon are also under contract.

Free agents:

Both Kentrell Brothers and Eric Wilson are set to be free agents.

Losing Wilson would hurt this team. He was a solid spot starter and actually graded as the league’s 24th-best linebacker per Pro Football Focus out of 88 graded players.

It feels like he’ll get paid to be a starter somewhere in 2020.

Potential Cap Casualties:

It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the team moved on from Gedeon in the final year of his rookie deal. Gedeon has an $893,289 cap hit in 2020, but the penalty to cut ties is just $158,289, per Spotrac.

Gedeon played in just eight games last season due to a concussion. Gedeon is a solid linebacker against the run, but has struggled in passing situations.

Vikings LB Eric Kendricks ruled out vs. Packers with quad injury

The hope is that the injury isn’t serious considering how important Kendricks is to this team’s defense.

Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks has been one of the best linebackers in the league.

Unfortunately, Kendricks hurt his quad in the first half against the Packers in Week 16 on Monday Night Football and the team announced he will not return.

The hope is that the injury isn’t serious considering how important Kendricks is to this team’s defense.

We’ll know more about the injury after the game and as the team practices next week in preparation for the Bears.

We’ll see Eric Wilson in action as Kendricks’ replacement.