The Las Vegas Raiders shocked everyone on Thursday, releasing Christian Wilkins a year after signing him to a massive deal worth $110 million over four years. $84.75 million of that contract was guaranteed – much of which is now in dispute – but the Raiders had seen enough. Wilkins suffered a Jones fracture in Week 5 of the 2024 season and suffered various setbacks in his rehab process. Clearly, the Raiders got tired of waiting, as Wilkins hadn’t participated in the team’s offseason programs.
According to Ian Rapoport, “several teams remain interested” in possibly signing Wilkins now that he’s available. Rapoport did caution that “it remains to be seen when he’ll be able to get back on the field“. No one is quite sure what his health status is. But Wilkins is yet to turn 30 years old and isn’t far removed from the best season of his career in 2023 with the Miami Dolphins.
There has really been only one team that’s been connected to Wilkins so far, the New England Patriots. New head coach Mike Vrabel openly admitted the franchise will discuss the possibility of signing him. But could they have competition in the Kansas City Chiefs?
Do Chiefs have enough cap space to sign Christian Wilkins?
While the Chiefs don’t necessarily have a need at defensive tackle, getting a healthy Wilkins to play alongside Chris Jones and George Karlaftis could spell doom for opposing offensive lines. It’s yet to be determined how much cap space the Chiefs will have after final cuts go through, but they are projected to have around $20 million in cap room. That’s enough to get Wilkins on the roster.
Given that this is quite possibly Travis Kelce‘s last season in Kansas City, the Chiefs should go all-out in their chase for another Super Bowl ring. Adding Wilkins certainly wouldn’t hurt, and it would fortify what was already one of the best defenses in the league last season.
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