The Las Vegas Raiders made headlines last week when they made the decision to release defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. The former first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins signed a four-year, $110 million deal with the Raiders last offseason, but a disagreement on how to handle his foot injury led the franchise to release him, and void his future guarantees.
This situation started off messy. When Wilkins was informed of his release and the voiding of his future guarantees, he filed a grievance with the NFLPA, which means that part of this saga is just beginning. However, another off-field development kept this story in the headlines, and led to further questions.
Christian Wilkins tried to playfully kiss top of teammate’s head prior to release from Raiders, per report
Jordan Dajani
Let’s take a look at a timeline of this situation:
Oct. 6, 2024: Wilkins suffers foot injury
In the Raider’s Week 5, 34-18 loss to the Denver Broncos, which was actually probably Wilkins’ best performance of the season, he suffered a fracture in his foot.
“Tired of losing good players, that’s not ever good,” former Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said of Wilkins at the time. “But I tell you what, up to that point Christian was pretty dominant in the first half [of the game]. A sack, two TFLs, running around, and it happened early in the second quarter, and he played on it. Really tough S.O.B there. Christian right away went and got it fixed. He was here this morning at 6 a.m. trying to get ready and talking about he’ll be back in a couple weeks. Knowing Christian and his work ethic, obviously it’s disappointing. Next man up mentality. We’ve been dealing with that since Thursday before the Chargers [in Week 1], and we’ll keep dealing with that.”
Wilkins’ recovery timetable for the Jones fracture was to be determined, but he was never activated off of injured reserve. In five games played, Wilkins recorded 17 tackles, two sacks and six QB hits.
May 21, 2025: Pete Carroll addresses Wilkins’ recovery
After Pierce was fired in early January, the Raiders tabbed 73-year-old Pete Carroll to lead Vegas into this new era. In May, he addressed Wilkins’ recovery, describing it as “challenging,” per The Athletic.
“This has been a difficult recovery,” Carroll said. “He’s done everything he needs to do. He’s been here every day. He’s here early working hard, but we’re still working on it. He’s not ready to get back out (there). We’re in the midst of a long, challenging process here. Fortunately, there’s a lot of time. We’re going to take every bit of it. We’re trying to be really diligent. … He’s been onboard the whole time, but it has been challenging.”
July 18: Wilkins placed on PUP
The Raiders placed Wilkins on the active/physically unable to perform list, as he continued to recover from the foot injury. This transaction was disappointing and definitely notable, although Vegas could remove him from PUP at any time.
“Still uncertain, have to wait it out,” Carroll said of Wilkins’ status, via Fox5 Las Vegas.
July 24: Raiders release Wilkins
An absolute bombshell. News broke Thursday night that the Raiders were releasing Wilkins after he played just five games of a four-year, $110 million contract. Even more notable was that the Raiders were looking to void the remaining $35.2 million guaranteed on his contract by designating him as a “terminated vested veteran.” This led Wilkins to file a grievance with the NFLPA.
Why was Wilkins released? Well, his recovery from the Jones fracture did not exactly go according to plan, and the Raiders reportedly wanted him to undergo yet another surgery that would reset his recovery timetable. Wilkins did not want to do this, instead opting to rehab the injury.
The Raiders organization released a strongly-worded statement on Wilkins’ release:
“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. 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.”
Coach Carroll also addressed Wilkins’ release with reporters, saying that the organization did not take this decision lightly.
“We took a long time to make our decision,” Carroll said, via NFL.com. “We watched our way through the whole thing. We’re keeping it really clear with what we said. I think there was no clear path to his return, so we just had to move on.”
July 25: Rumors of something more
NFL reporter Josina Anderson published an article saying that some league sources believed an incident involving Wilkins and a teammate may have factored into his eventual release.
The rumor mill then began to churn on social media, with several stories that were impossible to confirm.
July 28: An alleged kiss
When ESPN’s Adam Schefter appeared on The Pat McAfee Show Monday, he was asked if something took place between Wilkins and a teammate. Schefter then revealed that Wilkins “playfully” went to kiss an unnamed teammate on the top of his head, and the player took offense to it.
ESPN then published an article with more details. The incident apparently took place in the Raiders locker room last week, with ESPN reporting that it was “playful,” but Wilkins’ teammate did not see it that way. A complaint was even filed to the team’s human resources department. Schefter also reported that sources said the incident was not the “sole reason” for Wilkins’ release.
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