As optimistic as we want to be every year, the truth is every NFL season opens with just a handful of teams — let’s say a half dozen or so — who have a realistic chance of winning the Super Bowl.
The Baltimore Ravens, once again, are one of those teams. And as a team that’s won a pair of Super Bowls in the past they know sometimes it comes down to just a few players here and there — not the superstars — who will fill things in around the edges and turn them into champions.
For the Ravens and a bunch of other Super Bowl contenders, there’s a big opportunity out there right now in the form of free agent defensive tackle Christian Wilkins — one of the best players at his position in the NFL and someone now looking for a job after his shocking release by the Las Vegas Raiders.
Las Vegas cut Wilkins loose on July 24 over a “breach of contract” clause and with $35.2 million in guaranteed money remaining on the 4-year, $110 million contract he signed with in March 2024.
Wilkins is coming off a Jones fracture in his left foot that limited him to just 5 games in 2024 —5 games for which he was paid a staggering $55.5 million.
While the Raiders claim the release was triggered by the manner in which Wilkins rehabbed his foot injury, there is nothing to seemingly prevent him from signing with another team in 2025.
If Wilkins can show the Ravens or another team his foot is OK, he could potentially land something along the lines a 1-year contract worth around $10 million.
If he ends up being the final piece on a Super Bowl winning defense, it could be worth that and then some.
Unstoppable Duo Up Front for Baltimore
Wilkins would be a massive upgrade on the interior defensive line for the Ravens becauuse, from his first snap, he would form one of the NFL’s elite 1-2 duos on the inside playing next to Nnamdi Madubuike.
Madubuike, 6-foot-3 and 315 pounds, signed a 4-year, $98 million contract extension in March 2024 and followed that with a dominant season; 43 tackles, 6.5 sacks and 11 TFL. He’s also durable — he hasn’t missed a game in 3 seasons and only missed 2 games in the last 4 years.
Right now, the 2 other starters alongside Madubuike are Travis Jones (42 tackles, 1.0 sack) and Broderick Washington (21 tackles, 2.0 sacks) — both of whom would still probably play plenty of snaps in a 4-man rotation.
Controversy Swirls Following Release From Raiders
On top of the uncertainty about his injury, Wilkins is facing serious questions about his character after an alleged incident that may have, at least in part, also contributed to his release by the Raiders.
It wasn’t the first time Wilkins has been accused of inappropriate contact in his career — college and the NFL.
From ESPN’s Adam Schefter: “Christian Wilkins, who was released by the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday, kissed a fellow player on the head and the teammate took offense to it … Last week’s incident happened inside a team meeting room. One source told ESPN that the interaction was ‘playful,’ but the teammate didn’t see it that way. It’s not known what the fellow player did following the incident. A complaint was filed to the Raiders’ human resources department, which investigated the incident.”
Allen went off on Wilkins.
Similar allegations surfaced against Wilkins in CFB and the NFL, including a 2022 fine.
Ravens Urged to Make ‘Massive Upgrade’ With Embattled $110 Million DT