NFL Rumors: 4 Christian Wilkins landing spots if Dolphins let him walk

First things first: It’s no secret that the Miami Dolphins have substantial work to do over the next few weeks in order to get under the salary cap for 2024. That’s even with the league announcement that the cap will be set at a record $255.4 million this year.

So how does this affect one of the game’s premier defensive linemen? ESPN’s Dan Graziano recently stated that “the Dolphins don't plan to let Christian Wilkins leave, and if that means franchising him, that's likely what they'll do…”

Wilkins is the 29th-ranked interior defender according to Pro Football Focus ($), which doesn’t sound overly impressive unless you take a look at his grades by category. He earns very solid marks in terms of stopping the run (69.5), as well as being an inside pass-rusher (70.8). He has played at started every game these past three seasons and comes off a year in which he totaled 65 tackles and a career-best 9.0 sacks.

Despite Graziano’s report, things change daily in the NFL and especially when it comes to the offseason. Should Wilkins be allowed to test the open market, here are four teams that could use his services.

4. Green Bay Packers

As it turned out, it was the rapid improvement of quarterback Jordan Love that catapulted Matt LaFleur’s team into the 2023 postseason. Meanwhile, Green Bay’s ever-struggling defensive unit disappointed once again.

This time, it cost coordinator Joe Barry his job. The new man running LaFleur’s defense is Jeff Hafley, who has had previous NFL experience working with defensive backs for the Buccaneers, Browns and 49ers. He was hired away as the head coach of Boston College.

He inherits a unit that has been mediocre at best in recent seasons, and a team that came up with only 18 takeaways in 17 games despite a respectable 45 sacks. The real problem is the fact that only four teams in the league allowed more yards rushing than Barry’s unit this past season.