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Christian Wilkins has a message for the Miami Dolphins and the fans who supported him for the past five seasons.
The defensive tackle, who left the team in free agency to sign a massive new deal with the Las Vegas Raiders, broke his silence with a statement on Instagram. In an emotional post, Wilkins thanked the team for taking a chance on him and sent a parting message to fans.
Christian Wilkins: ‘I Proudly Close This Chapter’
In the post shared on March 13, Wilkins included a series of images from his time with the Dolphins and a message of thanks to the team for drafting him in the first round in 2019.
“Five years ago, the @miamidolphins took a chance on me, and I’m forever grateful,” Wilkins wrote. “My goal was always to leave the city and organization better than I found it and it’s been an absolute pleasure to call it home. I proudly close this chapter, knowing I gave this place all that I had. Miami, you will be missed and you’ll hold a special place in my heart forever.”
Wilkins grew into one of the league’s top defensive linemen with the Dolphins, racking up 355 total tackles with 20.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and one interception during his five seasons in Miami.
As the Miami Herald reported, the Dolphins opened the door for his departure when they chose not to use the franchise tag and decided to monitor his interest in free agency. Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said the team worked with Wilkins’ agent, David Mulugheta, on a potential extension but the two sides were not able to reach an agreement.
“At the end of the day, it’s not what he had to do as we were talking and trying to build a team and put together a roster of trying to work together and try to find something that was fair to him and us,” Grier said of the negotiations, which took place during the summer of 2023. “At the end of the day, we tried, and the agent acknowledged it was a very fair offer and we felt good. So we’ll see where that takes us this offseason.”
The Dolphins were ultimately priced out of the market for Wilkins, who went to Las Vegas on a four-year deal worth up to $110 million, with $84.75 million guaranteed.
Dolphins Likely Getting Compensation
Despite losing one of their top players on defense, the Dolphins likely won’t leave the transaction empty-handed. SI.com’s Alain Poupart noted that the departures of Wilkins and center Robert Hunt in free agency are expected to put the team in line for compensatory draft picks for 2025. The league doles out compensatory picks based on the net loss or gain of free agents and Poupart noted that the Dolphins could earn two second-day picks for losing their top free agents.
“The benefits will come in the form of compensatory picks in the 2025 NFL draft, and the size of the contracts agreed to by Wilkins and Hunt could bring the Dolphins two third-round picks,” Poupart wrote.
