The Las Vegas Raiders‘ trend of making poor free agent signings continues. Last offseason, defensive tackle Christian Wilkins was one of the biggest names available.
It was a huge move for the Raiders to land him on a four-year, $110 million contract. However, the deal quickly looked bad in hindsight, as Wilkins suffered a season-ending foot injury after just five games.
The injury wasn’t supposed to keep him out for the 2025 season, but he was seen in a walking boot throughout the offseason. Things came to a head when he was placed on the physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp.
It now seems like things were worse behind the scenes than either side has let on. The Raiders announced that they are releasing Wilkins from the team.
“We have decided that it is in the best interests of the organization to move on from Christian Wilkins and he has been informed of his release from the team,” the Raiders wrote in a statement. “This franchise has a Commitment to Excellence on and off the field. With no clear path or plan for future return to play from Christian, this transaction is necessary for the entire organization to move forward and prepare for the new season.”
This is a bit more than a normal statement. It sounds like the Raiders clearly had some sort of dispute with Wilkins. While he won’t be playing for the team, this is likely the start of a drawn-out process.
Raiders Voided Wilkins’ Guarantees
The Wilkins release comes as such a surprise for a number of reasons. The biggest being that he still had $35.2 million guaranteed left on his contract. However, the Raiders were able to get off of it.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the team voided his remaining guaranteed money due to how he went about rehabbing his injury.
“Due to how Wilkins treated the rehab from his foot injury he suffered last season, the Raiders voided the remaining $35.2 million of guaranteed money left on Wilkins contract last month and today, Wilkins filed a grievance with the NFLPA,” Schefter wrote on X.
As Schefter noted, Wilkins isn’t going down without a fight and is going to try and get his guaranteed money. The Raiders have to feel they have a strong case in their favor for them to make such a bold move. Time will tell if the NFL sides with them.
Huge Blow for Raiders
It’s clear that the Raiders didn’t see a path forward with Wilkins on the roster, but the team is worse without him. Wilkins is one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL when he’s healthy.
Without him, the Raiders’ defensive line looks a lot less impressive. Maxx Crosby is a great player, but Malcolm Koonce is coming off an injury, and there aren’t any other big names on the depth chart. Las Vegas has to hope that some young players step up.
It’ll be difficult to replace a talent like Wilkins, but the Raiders are simply going to have to put their best foot forward.
