Have we heard the last of former Raiders defensive tackle Christian Wilkins?
That’s the question that was posed to Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer this week, and according to Breer, Wilkins’ absence from the league might be related to more than an injured foot and propensity to kiss teammates in the locker room.
“My understanding is that there were questions about whether Wilkins really wanted to keep playing football swirling around the Raiders’ building. So that’s definitely part of the equation here, an equation that already has a lot of complications,” Breer reported on Wednesday.
“To review, he sustained a Jones fracture in his foot in October 2024, had surgery, and then he incurred a second injury in his foot during his rehab. Wilkins refused a second surgery; there was a dispute over that, and Wilkins wound up being released,” Breer continued.
“There’s been very little discussion around Wilkins since. His return to football, at this point, probably comes down to his will to play, which is tied to his willingness to get his body right, and his willingness to play for a lot less than the $27 million per year he got to sign in Vegas where Antonio Pierce was the coach and Tom Telesco was the GM. It’s tough for me to judge exactly where he is from that standpoint.”
There hasn’t been a lot of discussion about Wilkins’ career since the Raiders released him almost a year ago, but at 30 years old, there probably aren’t many teams interested in taking on his complicated situation at this stage in his career.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter has been one of Wilkins’ fiercest defenders since the drama around him started, and last month he passed along an update from Wilkins’ agent.
“Free agent DT Christian Wilkins fully intends to play this season, but still is rehabbing his foot injury, per his agent David Mulugheta,” Schefter reported in March. “So far 26 teams have reached out and are waiting for Wilkins to be ready, and Wilkins is expected to have a new home as soon as he wants.”
If Wilkins really had 26 teams interested a month ago, wouldn’t it make sense that someone would have signed him by now?
Schefter downplayed the bizarre intendents involving Wilkins a year ago, and it’s safe to assume that he’s exaggerating the league’s interest in him now.
x: @raidersbeat
Should never play another down in the NFL.
I never heard if the NFL settled his disputed cut for cause release. There can’t be many teams with any significant cap space they would waste on this guy. I feel better about having the new kid we got in the 7th round, hungrier & plays with attitude.