The Green Bay Packers signed linebacker Eric Wilson off the practice squad of the New Orleans Saints. The team announced the move on Tuesday.
The Packers had an open roster spot after placing offensive tackle Caleb Jones on the non-football illness list last Saturday.
Wilson, an undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati in 2017, has played 78 career regular-season games and made 27 starts, tallying 278 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 8.0 sacks, four interceptions, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and 20 quarterback hits.
Wilson (6-1, 230) originally signed with the Minnesota Vikings. He played 64 games over four seasons with Green Bay’s NFC North rival.
According to Pro Football Focus, Wilson has 78 career stops, 23 career pressures and 37 missed tackles. He’s been penalized twice and has allowed a passer rating of 88.3 into his coverage.
Wilson will provide more depth behind starters De’Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker at linebacker while also giving Rich Bisaccia another weapon to use on special teams. He’s played nearly 1,000 career special teams snaps and has 26 career special teams tackles.
In 2020, Wilson started 15 of 16 games and played 1,034 snaps on defense for Mike Zimmer’s Vikings defense. He spent parts of last season with the Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles.
Wilson has been on the Saints practice squad all season. He forced a fumble during the preseason game against the Packers in August.
The Packers now have four inside linebackers on the 53-man roster: Wilson, Campbell, Walker and Isaiah McDuffie. Krys Barnes is on injured reserve.
