The Las Vegas Raiders have made one of the biggest splashes of free agency. According to CBS Sports HQ senior NFL insider Josina Anderson, the Raiders will sign former Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins to a four-year, $110 million contract. The deal contains $84.75 million in guarantees, according to NFL Media.
Wilkins is just the latest interior defensive lineman to get a huge contract this offseason. Chris Jones got a mammoth deal to remain with the Chiefs, while Justin Madubuike got a huge contract to stay with the Ravens. According to Over the Cap, Wilkins' $110 million in total value ranks second among interior linemen behind only Jones' $158.75 million, while the $27.5 million average annual value checks in third behind Jones and Aaron Donald.
If accurate, the $84.75 million in guarantees would report smash the previous high, which is Jones' $60 million. The way NFL contracts are structured (and reported) can be opaque, though, and it seems likely that the fully-guaranteed portion of the deal is closer to where Jones and Donald's numbers are.
Wilkins spent the first five years of his career with the Miami Dolphins, who made him a first-round pick back in 2019. He is coming off the best year of his career in 2023, during which he collected nine sacks, 10 tackles for loss, and 23 quarterback hits. He now joins a defensive line that already features one of the NFL's premier pass rushers in Maxx Crosby, and he will be counted on to elevate a defense that already played pretty well down the stretch of the season under then-interim and now-full-time head coach Antonio Pierce.
