Jeremy Fowler of ESPN is reporting that Christian Wilkins likely will not be franchise-tagged by the Miami Dolphins; he will hit the open market as a free agent and that Houston is a destination to keep an eye on as a landing spot.
Per Fowler: “While Miami’s stance is that all options are on the table for defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, several league sources say he probably won’t be franchise-tagged. That would put a big-time tackle who had 63 tackles and nine sacks in 2023 on the market.
Houston is intriguing here. The Texans have ample cap space, a quarterback early on a rookie deal and a playoff roster. There would be several teams in the mix, though. The Browns are always good for a splash or two, for instance. Would they strengthen an already stout defense with the versatile DT?”
Development out of Indy: Several league sources expect #Dolphins’ Christian Wilkins to avoid franchise tag. Miami source says keeping options open, but teams bracing for star DT to hit free agency.
That and much, much more from @DanGrazianoESPN and mehttps://t.co/DUUbVAlj5b pic.twitter.com/JNbQQifJoa
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 3, 2024
On February 21st, Dan Graziano of ESPN reported on ESPN NFL Live that the Dolphins plan on keeping Christian Wilkins, and they will franchises tag him if they have to. He says Miami doesn’t plan to let him leave, even with the salary cap trouble they are in.
Wilkins ended the 2023 season with nine sacks and 65 tackles. A career high for sacks and a career low for tackles in a single season. The Dolphins worked on a long-term deal with Wilkins all of last offseason, and Wilkins held a sit-in during training camp last season where he didn’t participate in team drills or preseason games.
Miami then gave a long-term deal to Zach Sieler who’s contract was set to expire at the same time as Wilkins to ensure that they wouldn’t lose both players. Just this week at the NFL Scouting Combine Grier stated that he and Wilkins and his team were close last offseason on a long term deal and he was hopeful. This new news goes against that, and it appears Chrisitan Wilkins has played his last game for the Miami Dolphins.
More on this story as it develops.
Phins can still sign Wilkins. They couldn’t agree on the price tag for over a year now, so they both decided to find that out. Think the Phins will come back and sign him for 5 yrs, $100M, perhaps $70M guaranteed and he stays. The Oline is a mess, but if Phins can hit on Jackson Powers Jackson at C in the draft, and get two guards, one in the draft, one vet FA, they still have their tackles in Armstead and Austin Jackson, therein is your Oline. I believe they will release Jerome Baker and sign AVG same day. Hunt and Williams will be gone. At safety, another year removed from injury, I say they bring back Brandon Jones, also Elliot to go with Holland. The toughest piece to replace is X Howard. Is Cam Smith the answer ? Too much riding on that to just give him the job. Kader is a nickel, Needham is a nickel. The Phins must find a starting corner. If they can, the scenario above could patch up their current roster problems. This is fake Chris Grier, signing off.