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Eric André Wilson (born September 26, 1994) is an American professional football linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Northwestern and Cincinnati, and signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He has also played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans, and New Orleans Saints.
| No. 45 – Green Bay Packers | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | September 26, 1994 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Lee M. Thurston (Redford, Michigan) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Northwestern (2012) Cincinnati (2013–2016) | ||||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2017 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2024 | |||||||||||||||
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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.[1] He played safety, linebacker, and wide receiver at Lee M. Thurston.[2] 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.[1]
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.[1] He was named Second-team All-American Athletic Conference (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.[3]
Pre-draft
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.[4] Lance Zierlein of NFL.com predicted that he would be drafted in the fifth or sixth round.[5]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1+1⁄8 in (1.86 m) |
230 lb (104 kg) |
30+1⁄4 in (0.77 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 4.53 s | 1.54 s | 2.50 s | 4.31 s | 6.96 s | 39.5 in (1.00 m) | 10 ft 1 in (3.07 m) | 25 reps | |
| All values from Cincinnati Pro Day[4] | ||||||||||||
Minnesota Vikings
Wilson signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent on May 1, 2017.[6] Wilson made his first career sack in week 11 of the 2018 season 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.[7] In week 17 against the Chicago Bears, Wilson recorded a team high 12 tackles and sacked Trubisky once during the 21–19 loss.[8]
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.[9] In Week 2 against the Indianapolis Colts, Wilson recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Philip Rivers during the 28–11 loss.[10] In Week 5 against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football, Wilson recorded a sack on Russell Wilson and intercepted a pass thrown by Wilson during the 27–26 loss.[11] In Week 8 against the Green Bay Packers, Wilson recovered a fumble forced by teammate D. J. Wonnum on Aaron Rodgers late in the fourth quarter to secure a 28–22 Vikings' win.[12]
Philadelphia Eagles
Wilson signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on April 14, 2021.[13][14] He was named the starting middle linebacker alongside T. J. Edwards. He started two of seven games played before being released on November 3, 2021.[15]
Houston Texans
On November 4, 2021, Wilson was claimed off waivers by the Houston Texans.[16]
New Orleans Saints
On May 16, 2022, Wilson signed with the New Orleans Saints.[17] He was released on August 30, 2022, and signed to the practice squad the next day.[18][19]
Green Bay Packers
On October 4, 2022, Wilson was signed by the Packers off of the Saints' practice squad.[20] On October 16, he blocked a punt by Braden Mann during a Week 6 loss to the New York Jets.[21] On March 25, 2023, Wilson re-signed with the Packers.[22] On January 20, Eric recovered a fumble against the San Francisco 49ers, during the second round of the NFL playoffs.[23]
On March 23, 2024, Wilson re-signed with the Packers.[24] In Week 3 against the Indianapolis Colts, Wilson recorded a near perfect Pro Football Focus grade of 99.4 as the Packers won 16–10, after recording a forced fumble, a tackle for loss and an interception over 8 defensive snaps.[25] In Week 7 against the Houston Texans, Wilson filled in for Quay Walker when he was ruled out with a concussion, recording a pass deflection, 4 tackles for loss and 2 sacks on Texans quarterback C. J. Stroud as the Packers won 24–22, again recording the highest PFF grade among Packers defensive players.[26]
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Solo | Ast | Sck | SFTY | PDef | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TDs | FF | FR | ||||
| 2017 | MIN | 16 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | MIN | 16 | 4 | 42 | 31 | 11 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | MIN | 16 | 6 | 62 | 36 | 26 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 | MIN | 16 | 15 | 122 | 62 | 60 | 3.0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 23 | 7.7 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2021 | HOU | 7 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PHI | 7 | 2 | 43 | 18 | 25 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022 | GB | 13 | 0 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | GB | 17 | 0 | 31 | 16 | 15 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | GB | 7 | 4 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 115 | 31 | 348 | 194 | 154 | 11.0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 30 | 6.0 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| Source: pro-football-reference.com | ||||||||||||||||
Postseason
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