Bengals reportedly targeting three megastars from Raiders
|Raiders signing DT Christian Wilkins to four-year, $110 million deal
The Las Vegas Raiders are making a big splash at the opening of free agency.
The Raiders are expected to sign Dolphins Pro Bowl defensive tackle Christian Wilkins to a four-year deal worth a base value of $110 million, with $84.75 million of it guaranteed, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday.
The Dolphins opted to not franchise tag Wilkins despite him coming off a career season in 2023. The 28-year-old Wilkins hit career highs in sacks (nine), QB pressures (61) and QB hits (23), in spite of the Dolphins’ defense being decimated by injuries late in the season. He also added 65 tackles (10 for losses), one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries in his fifth NFL season.
Wilkins ranked No. 2 in NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal’s list of the Top 101 NFL free agents of 2024. The Raiders’ two starting defensive tackles from last season, Bilal Nichols and John Jenkins, plus top backup Adam Butler are all pending free agents.
Las Vegas, which ranked ninth in points allowed last season, now will feature two dominant forces on their defensive line for new full-time head coach Antonio Pierce with Wilkins and pass rusher Maxx Crosby, who had a career-best 14.5 sacks last season and led the NFL in tackles for loss with 23.
They’re also two of the better ironmen in the NFL. Wilkins has started 51 straight games, and Crosby has not missed a game in his five-years career.
The Dolphins now have a major void to fill on their defensive front. In addition to being one of Miami’s best players in recent seasons, Wilkins also has been one of the best locker-room leaders in that span.
Free agent defensive tackle Christian Wilkins is signing a four-year, $110 million base value deal that includes $84.75 million guaranteed with the Las Vegas Raiders, agent David Mulugheta told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday.
Wilkins, a first-round pick in 2019, cemented himself as a starter during his rookie season with the Miami Dolphins and started 77 games during his first five seasons.
In 2022, he made 98 tackles to set a single-season NFL record for a defensive tackle. Since entering the league, Wilkins, 28, has been one of the best run-stoppers in the league at his position, and his 39% run stop win rate since 2019 ranks eighth among qualified defensive tackles.
Wilkins and the Dolphins were unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension during the 2022 offseason. The main critique at the time was his lack of success as a pass-rusher (11.5 sacks) compared to other top players at his position.
He fixed that in 2023, tallying a career-high nine sacks, which was fourth in the league among defensive tackles and trailed only Bradley Chubb and fellow DT Zach Sieler for the team lead.
Overall, Wilkins had 355 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries, an interception and two defensive touchdowns with the Dolphins.