Packers boost special teams by re-signing LB Eric Wilson

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers continued assisting their special-teams unit Saturday by re-signing linebacker Eric Wilson.

Wilson had 13 special-teams tackles last season to tie Dallin Leavitt for the team lead. He played 13 games for the Packers, who signed him off the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad on Oct. 4.

The 28-year-old Wilson also recorded one sack on defense.

Wilson played for the Minnesota Vikings from 2017-20 before splitting time in 2021 with the Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles. Wilson signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati.

The Packers addressed special teams earlier in the free-agent period by re-signing All-Pro kick returner Keisean Nixon and tight end Tyler Davis, who was on the field for the highest percentage of special-teams plays of any Packer last season.

Green Bay also has signed long snapper Matt Orzech and added former San Francisco safety Tarvarius Moore, whose primary contributions for the 49ers came on special teams.

The San Francisco 49ers have found their potential replacement for longtime kicker Robbie Gould after agreeing to acquire Zane Gonzalez from the Carolina Panthers on Friday.

The teams will exchange a conditional swap of late-round picks in the 2025 draft to complete the deal which will be finalized once Gonzalez passes a physical.

Carolina re-signed kicker Eddy Piñeiro on Thursday and planned to release Gonzalez before reaching the deal with San Francisco.

The Niners had been seeking a kicker since deciding not to bring back Gould as a free agent. The 40-year-old Gould joined the 49ers in 2017 and made 87.5% of his field goals over six seasons.

Gould was the most reliable postseason kicker in NFL history, making all 29 field goal attempts and 39 extra points in 16 playoff games for the Bears, Giants and 49ers.

Gould was 8 for 8 on field goals and made all five extra points during last season’s playoff run for San Francisco.

Gonzalez, who turns 28 in May, missed all of last season with a groin injury, leading to his departure from Carolina. He was 20 for 22 on field goals for the Panthers in 2021 — making all 17 tries from inside 50 yards.

Gonzalez also had 63.6% of his kickoffs go for touchbacks in 2021. The Niners ranked 27th in the NFL last season with only 47.5% of kickoffs going for touchbacks.

Gonzalez originally entered the league as a seventh-round pick for Cleveland in 2017. He has made 80.5% of field goal tries and 94.8% of his extra points in 63 career games for the Browns, Cardinals and Panthers.

The Carolina Panthers have agreed to a deal with free-agent wide receiver DJ Chark, the team said Friday.

The 26-year-old Chark, a five-year veteran, had 30 receptions for 502 yards and three touchdowns for Detroit last season.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the NFL Network reported it was for one year.

Chark joins veteran Adam Thielen, who agreed to deal with Carolina on Sunday, as part of a revamped receiving corps for the Panthers, who traded their best wideout, D.J. Moore, to the Chicago Bears as part of a package for the top overall pick in the draft.

The Panthers intend to draft a quarterback at No. 1, and whoever they choose will have two veteran targets on the outside. Carolina also brought in pass-catching tight end Hayden Hurst and running back Miles Sanders as it revamps an offense that ranked near the bottom of the league last year.

Chark was a 2018 second-round pick by Jacksonville out of LSU. His best season was 2019, when he had 73 catches for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns for the Jaguars.

Injuries have limited him to 28 games over the past three seasons.