Former Dolphins DT Christian Wilkins signing lucrative deal with Raiders
Former Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins has agreed to a lucrative deal with the Las Vegas Raiders, according to multiple reports, and is set to leave Miami after spending the first five years of his career with the team.
According to reports, the deal is for four years and has a $110 million base value with $84.75 million guaranteed.
The contract makes Wilkins, 28, one of the highest-paid interior defensive linemen in the NFL. The total value only trails the Kansas City Chiefs’ Chris Jones, who recently signed a five-year, $158 million deal. The guarantees also only trail Jones and the average annual value slots behind Jones and the Los Angeles Rams’ Aaron Donald.
Wilkins’ future in Miami looked to be in jeopardy after the Dolphins declined to place the franchise tag on him last week, allowing Wilkins to become a free agent for the first time in his career.
In the past few days, mega deals for Jones and the Baltimore Ravens’ Justin Madubuike (four years, $98 million) only boosted Wilkins’ market, making him the top defensive tackle available when the legal tampering period opened at noon. Deals cannot be finalized until 4 p.m. Wednesday.
The Dolphins and Wilkins’ agent held contract talks last summer but could not come to an agreement. Wilkins played the final year of his rookie deal on his fifth-year option, worth $10.7 million. The two sides met again at the NFL Scouting Combine but could not strike a deal before the franchise tag deadline.
According to a source, the Dolphins last year offered Wilkins a deal that was in the top 10 in average salary for defensive tackles. Based on salaries for 2023 defensive tackles, such a deal would have been for no less than $17 million annually. But Wilkins’ believed he could receive much more than that on the open market, a bet he ultimately won.
In pursuit of a new deal last year, Wilkins staged a hold-in throughout the second half of training camp. He resumed practice once the regular started and continued his ascension as one of the league’s better defensive tackles, recording a career-high nine sacks in 2023.
While the Dolphins struggled to find common ground with Wilkins, they gave fellow defensive tackle Zach Sieler a three-year, $30.75 million extension. Sieler had a career-high 10 sacks in 2023.
Wilkins, the No. 13 overall pick in the 2019 Draft, emerged as a team captain and one of the faces of the Dolphins’ rebuild. In 2022, he recorded a career-high 98 tackles, which was also the most by a defensive lineman in a decade. Over five seasons, Wilkins has recorded 355 tackles, 43 tackles for loss and 20.5 sacks.
The Dolphins were unlikely to be able to compete with offers for Wilkins given their tight cap situation. As of Monday afternoon, they are about $25 million over the cap and must become compliant before the start of the new league year on Wednesday. General manager Chris Grier also alluded to upcoming extensions for players when speaking at the Combine.
Miami last week signed a pair of veteran defensive tackles, Isaiah Mack and Daviyon Nixon, to league-minimum deals, but will now be in search of a productive replacement for Wilkins, in free agency or the draft.
While Wilkins is headed west, he will return to Hard Rock Stadium in 2024. The Dolphins are scheduled to host the Raiders this upcoming season.
With Wilkins, safety Brandon Jones (Denver Broncos) and outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (Minnesota Vikings) also agreeing to deals elsewhere, Miami has lost a half-dozen players who have contributed to the defense in recent years. The Dolphins released defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah and inside linebacker Jerome Baker in recent weeks and will release cornerback Xavien Howard at the start of the new league year.
Miami is also losing right guard Robert Hunt, who is reportedly signing a five-year, $100 million deal with the Carolina Panthers.
Miami Herald sportswriter Barry Jackson contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 11, 2024 at 1:38 PM.
