Jets want Muhammad Wilkerson extension before season
By Mike Dyce
The New York Jets and defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson have been going back in forth about a contract for a while. Wilkerson for his part said he wasn’t going to push a contract extension with the Jets.
“I would like a deal, but when it happens, it happens,” Wilkerson said, via ESPN. “I’m not saying I want it to be before the regular season. When it happens, it happens. I’m going to come in and work hard and take every day like I always do.”
It is interesting because he is in a special class, the first under the new rookie pay system. ESPN’s Rich Cimini answer a fan’s question in a mailbag post and said that Wilkerson doesn’t have much leverage to get a deal done sooner, but that the Jets will want to get a deal done before training camp.
From ESPN New York:
"Obviously, the Jets want to sign Muhammad Wilkerson to an extension, but there’s no sense of urgency this year because he’s under contract through 2015. His cap numbers for ’14 and ’15 are $2.2. million and $7.0 million, respectively — team-friendly costs. John Idzik is a hard-line negotiator who likes to maximize leverage. Well, he has all the leverage in this case, so that tells me he will try to get a deal done by the start of the season."
The two sides seem to be taking a non-chalant approach, which seems to indicate negotiations will be pleasant and friendly.