Former general manager Tom Telesco did some good things in the draft during his lone year with the Las Vegas Raiders. However, his free agent moves have not looked good in hindsight.
Quarterback Gardner Minshew was cut after one season, and now the massive $110 million contract he gave to defensive tackle Christian Wilkins may have been a swing and a miss. He only played five games last season before a foot injury knocked him out for the rest of the year.
Even though that injury happened early in the season, it appears that Wilkins still hasn’t fully recovered. There have been rumors all offseason that he’s still not healthy, and that has now been confirmed.
The Raiders announced on Friday that Wilkins will start training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list. The team can take him off the list at any point during training camp or before the start of the regular season. If he’s unable to play when the Raiders cut down to 53 players, he’ll have to go to the reserve/PUP list, which would mean he’d have to miss at least four games.
If he doesn’t practice before those four games are up, he has to sit out for the whole season. That would be a problem for Las Vegas.
Raiders Likely Can’t Move on From Wilkins
In the five games that Wilkins played last season, he looked like he was going to be a serious impact player for the Raiders. He was consistently wreaking havoc in the backfield and stepped up with Maxx Crosby being hurt early in the year.
If he’s healthy, he should be worth the money the Raiders are paying him. The team really needs him to get healthy, because even if he doesn’t, they don’t have a way to get off of his contract next year, according to The Athletic’s Tashan Reed.
“The Raiders signed Wilkins to a massive four-year, $110 million free-agent contract last offseason, but it has aged poorly thus far,” Reed wrote. “He played just five games last season, and now his status for the 2025 season is up in the air.
“Even if Wilkins doesn’t play at all this season, he’ll likely be back with the Raiders in 2026, given that most of his salary is guaranteed. To move on, the team would have to eat a substantial dead-money hit. Obviously, the Raiders hope Wilkins returns to action soon, and that’s not something they have to consider.”
Who Will Step Up if Wilkins Can’t Play?
The Raiders are keeping tight-lipped about Wilkins, so there’s still a chance he’ll be able to return to practice before the start of the season. However, the team does need to have some contingency plans.
Adam Butler got a contract extension this offseason, so he’ll be one of the starting defensive tackles. It’s unclear who would start next to him if Wilkins can’t go. Perhaps the Raiders will move Tyree Wilson to defensive tackle on a more permanent basis. A rookie like Tonka Hemingway or J.J. Pegues could also step up in training camp. It’ll be a position group to watch closely this offseason.
