Eric Wilson just lost two games in the standings.
Wilson, released by the 3-5 Eagles on Wednesday, was claimed by the 1-7 Texans, who have lost seven straight games since beating the Jaguars on opening day.
Wilson is actually the Eagles’ 3rd-leading tackler with 43 stops, but he struggled all year and gradually lost playing time – 207 snaps the first four games, 74 the next three – and with the Eagles eager to get a longer look at second-year pro Davion Taylor, Wilson became expendable.
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Pro Football Focus ranked Wilson 75th out of 82 qualifying linebackers.
It also didn’t help that Wilson wasn’t a huge contributor on special teams. He played only 30 snaps in seven games on special teams, and a backup linebacker that doesn’t play special teams is a luxury most teams can’t afford. It came down to Wilson or Shaun Bradley, the second-year pro from Rancocas Valley and Temple, and Bradley has established himself as one of the team’s better special teamers.
Wilson spent his first four seasons with the Vikings and had three INTs and three sacks last year in his first year as a full-time starter, but he never showed that kind of playmaking ability, despite being reunited with Jonathan Gannon, who was on Mike Zimmer’s Vikings staff in 2017, Wilson’s rookie year.
With the Texans, Wilson joins a linebacker corps that includes Christian Kirksey and Kamu Grugier-Hill, who was a backup on the Eagles’ 2017 Super Bowl team.
NFL
Texans head coach David Culley was Andy Reid’s wide receivers coach with the Eagles from 1999 through 2012.
As Dave Zangaro outlined on Wednesday, Wilson is the latest in a long line of veteran free agent linebackers who've bombed out with the Eagles.
The Texans are responsible for the remainder of Wilson’s $1.035 million base salary from the one-year contract that he signed in April, which amounts to $575,000.
Wilson counts $1.378 million in dead money against the Eagles’ 2021 cap according to SpoTrac.
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