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The Las Vegas Raiders will look a lot different when the 2025 NFL season kicks off this fall. Las Vegas made several aggressive moves to get better this offseason, including drafting running back Ashton Jeanty. The Raiders made a different another surprising roster move just days after the start of NFL training camps.
Las Vegas shocked the NFL world by releasing DT Christian Wilkins on Thursday night.
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Tashan Reed shared some background on the disagreement between Wilkins and the Raiders.
“Before OTAs began, the Raiders informed Wilkins that he needed a second surgery on his foot, according to a league source,” Russini and Reed wrote. “Wilkins disagreed and didn’t get the procedure, a league source said. That sparked a back-and-forth over the last few months that led to the Raiders ultimately deciding to move on from Wilkins.”
Las Vegas signed Wilkins to a four-year contract worth $110 million during the 2024 free agency cycle.
Now that move looks like a mistake for a retooling Raiders team.
It seems a disagreement over how Wilkins rehabbed from surgery caused the split.
Wilkins did not have the 2024 season that the Raiders hoped he would. He only played in five games after suffering a Jones fracture on his foot. As a result, he only logged 17 total tackles with two sacks.
As part of the transaction, the Raiders voided the remaining $35.2 million in guaranteed money on Wilkins’ contract. The team cited a disagreement over how Wilkins handled his rehab process for why they voided that money.
Wilkins had surgery on his foot back in October. The normal timeline for recovery from a Jones fracture is usually three to four months. Wilkins should have been fully recovered by the beginning of NFL free agency.
Instead, The Athletic reports that Wilkins was not able to practice when the Raiders began OTAs in May. This put Wilkins multiple months off schedule on his recovery, making it clear something had gone wrong.
Las Vegas placed Wilkins on the PUP list last week, confirming that he still was not able to practice months after OTAs.
Wilkins filed a grievance with the NFLPA in an effort to recoup some, or all, of the guaranteed money the Raiders voided when releasing him.
It will be interesting to see if Wilkins can get any of that money back.
The post Raiders rumors: The surgery disagreement at center of Christian Wilkins dispute appeared first on ClutchPoints.
