The Minnesota Vikings have been aggressive in reshaping the defense to cater to star defensive coordinator Brian Flores in recent offseasons. Ahead of the 2024 campaign, that included what was expected to be an aggressive pursuit of former Dolphins star Christian Wilkins. However, the Vikings were boxed out when the Las Vegas Raiders forked over $110 million over four years for the defensive tackle. But now the Vikings have their opportunity to pay pennies on the dollar and still get their guy.
In a bit of a stunner on Thursday, the Raiders released Wilkins over a dispute regarding his injured foot and his recovery options.
Wilkins suffered a fractured foot that limited to only five games in his lone season with Vegas, but as the team pushed for him to undergo surgery, Wilkins apparently didn't see eye-to-eye with that. Now, the Raiders are attempting to void the remaining $35.25 million in guarantees on his contract and get out from the deal entirely.
Regardless of what happens there and with Wilkins and his agent filing a grievance with the NFLPA over the voided guarantees, he's now a free agent. While he still needs to get healthy from the foot injury, he could be an addition for a team's defense at midseason. Furthermore, it likely won't cost $27.5 million per season or $110 million in total to sign him this time around.
And Kwesi Adofo-Mensah should surely be ready to make that call for the Vikings to run their pursuit of Wilkins back.
Vikings could land Christian Wilkins for much cheaper than they ever expected
Minnesota already made upgrades on the defensive front this offseason, signing Jonathan Allen following his release from the Commanders, as well as inking veteran Javon Hargrave to man the starting defensive line with Harrison Phillips. That group, in itself, could be quite dangerous for the Vikings and Flores if healthy.
Unfortunately, the depth is lacking and health isn't a certaintly, particularly with Allen and Hargrave. They have fifth-rounder Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins and Jalen Redmond, but they could use reinforcements. And you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who could provide that as impactfully as Wilkins once he's able to get back onto the field. After all, 22.5 sacks and 45 tackles for loss over 86 career games from a DT don't grow on trees.
In the wake of this kerfuffle with the Raiders, though, Wilkins won't have the leverage at his disposal that he did in free agency. The injury concerns and his disagreement with Vegas' front office will depress the price tag he can demand. That means the Vikings could potentially ink him, even on a short-term prove-it type of deal, for something like $10-15 million per season, perhaps even prorated if they wait until midseason to add him.
Adding Wilkins to this front could make perfect sense, though. Personnel wise, he fits a need. More importantly, though, with the offense being led by first-year starter J.J. McCarthy in his de-facto rookie season, having Flores' defense operating at peak efficiency is a must for the Vikings to maintain their spot as a playoff team. Wilkins would all but ensure that's more likely than not, even if the team would have to wait to be able to deploy him on the line.