2024 wasn’t kind to either the Dallas Cowboys defense, or Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Christian Wilkins. Dallas would rank 31st in points per game (27.5), 28th in yards per game (355.2), & ranked dead last in opposing redzone scoring percentage (75%).
A big contribution to these numbers was injuries. A plethora of players on both sides (Dak Prescott, Trevon Diggs, Daron Bland, Tank Lawrence, DeMarvion Overshown, etc.) would spend much of their season on the sidelines as the injury bug ran rampant throughout the locker room.
Over in Las Vegas, star lineman Christian Wilkins wasn’t faring much better.
In March of 2024, Wilkins signed a four-year, $110 million deal with $84.75 million guaranteed to setup shop in Las Vegas & pair with Maxx Crosby to form one of the most terrifying lines in football. That dream would be short lived in his debut season for the black & silver, as Wilkins would only play 5 games before suffering a season-ending Jones fracture in his left foot vs the Broncos on October 6th.
He would finish the season with 2 sacks, 9 QB pressures & 6 QB hits.
During the offseason, the Raiders would request Wilkins to have surgery on the foot. After several opinions he declined, resulting in the Las Vegas voiding the remaining $35.2 million of guaranteed money on his contract. This would lead to Wilkins being released & subsequently filing a grievance through the NFLPA.
A video surfaced days before his release of the lineman in the team facility dancing. Many allege & assume that this may have factored into the Raiders releasing him altogether.
Now a free agent, would it make sense for Dallas & Wilkins to team up? Lets explore the possibility.
In any potential partnership between the two sides, the first question would be: How long will Wilkins be out for? If the lineman ends up having surgery, it could cost him all of 2025, making almost no sense for him to sign with anyone unless the desire for him was so high that the team wouldn’t mind paying him to recover in the first year of the deal.
Secondly, what would the on field fit look like?
If you count his five games last season, Wilkins has finished with a run defense grade of 80 or greater three times in his career according to Pro Focus Football. He also tallied 9 sacks in what would be his farewell season for Miami two years ago. Factoring in how Dallas has struggled stopping the run for a few seasons now & coupling it with the question mark at the opposite end from Micah Parsons & you could be solving two problems for the price of one.
Wilkins finds a new home, & Dallas adds someone to help plug the leaks in the run game while also getting after opposing signal callers. Could it be a match made in heaven?
