Head Coach Mike Vrabel says his New England Patriots staff will “have a conversation” about signing the recently released former first round pick Christian Wilkins.
Wilkins was released by Pete Carroll and the Las Vegas Raiders yesterday. The break up was messy, with the Raiders filing a league dispute over the player’s handling of his injury recovery. The Raiders are looking to have the remaining $35 million in guarantees voided by the league office.
The aforementioned recovery is what makes signing the 29-year-old, former 13th overall pick such a gamble. It was announced Wednesday, just one day before the team cut him, that Wilkins would begin the season on the physically unable to perform list following a broken foot suffered in Week 5 of last season.
Even so, Vrabel says the team will have discussions on whether or not the risk is worth the reward.
“I think we’ll have a conversation,” Vrabel told reporters yesterday. “This is pretty new, so I don’t have all the information on where Christian is. I’ve known Christian, recruited him when he was up here in the area in Connecticut in high school, so I’m sure we’ll have a conversation.”
Christian Wilkins Messy Breakup With Las Vegas Raiders
As previously mentioned, the dispute between Wilkins and Vegas lied in the handling of a broken foot suffered way back in October of 2024.
The injury required surgery, however, the Raiders were unpleased with the player’s condition when he returned to camp this summer.
“The belief was that Wilkins needed another surgery on his foot; he balked at getting it, sources told ESPN,” ESPN’s Ryan McFadden writes. “The Raiders then voided the guaranteed money left on his deal due to ‘failure to maintain his physical condition to play’.”
It was unclear how serious the problem was on Wednesday when it was announced Wilkins would not be activated at the start of camp. Then, just over 24 hours later, he was cut.
“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,” the Raiders said in a statement. “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.”
“We took a long time to make our decision,” Carroll said today. “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.”
Why The Patriots Should Take A Stab At Wilkins
It’s all going to come down to the price tag on Wilkins.
Before the injury, Wilkins was playing the best football of his life. He had 11.5 total sacks in his first four seasons with the team that drafted him. In his fifth and final season with the Miami Dolphins, he nearly hit his four year mark, recording nine sacks in 17 games.
The next year he was signed to a big money deal, four years, $110,000,000 with the Raiders. Just four games in Wilkins already had two sacks and 17 tackles.
If Wilkins can return as a near double digit sack interior defensive lineman, his massive price tag would absolutely be worth it for a team like the Patriots who have the most remaining cap space in the league.
However, if Wilkins is expecting his full $27 million to get picked up, all 32 teams might be out.
In conclusion, Wilkins is a gamble the Patriots can afford to take- should he be willing to sign a prove it deal.
Patriots Considering Signing $110 Million Free Agent, ‘Will Have A Conversation’