Raiders DT Christian Wilkins Unlikely To Be Cleared Before Training Camp

Christian Wilkins was limited to just five games during his debut season with the Raiders due to a Jones fracture. Surgery in October shut him down for the remainder of the campaign, and things have not gone smoothly with respect to his rehab process.

Wilkins’ left foot has been in and out of a walking boot since the procedure, as noted by Vic Tafur of The Athletic (subscription required). The big-ticket 2024 free agent addition was mentioned last month as a candidate to miss time during the coming season based on his status at the time. With Wilkins not taking part in spring practices, it is clear he still has plenty of work to do to suit up for Week 1.

“This has been a difficult recovery,” head coach Pete Carroll said when speaking about Wilkins’ situation (via Tafur). “He’s done everything he needs to do. He’s been here every day… We’re in the midst of a long, challenging process here. Fortunately, there’s a lot of time.”

April’s update suggested a second procedure took place, but Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal notes Wilkins is dealing with a setback. The screw inserted into the 29-year-old’s foot may have broken, or Wilkins may have re-fractured to bone which was initially injured. The latter scenario is rare, but in either case Bonsignore adds a return to full health should not be expected until August.

That timeline would leave the former Dolphin sidelined for the remainder of OTAs and minicamp through the start of training camp in July. Wilkins being back to 100% by that point would still leave plenty of time for him to prepare for the season, of course, but in the meantime his absence will be felt on a Raiders team which added him on a four-year, $110MM contract last March. That pact was restructured this offseason in a move which created $15MM in cap room but left high expectations for the former first-rounder upon return.

Vegas still has veteran Adam Butler in place along the defensive line, and the team made a pair of additions during the fourth and sixth rounds of the draft (Tonka Hemingway, J.J. Pegues). That group’s performance will depend in large part on Wilkins delivering on expectations this year, of course, but given his current status it remains to be seen how much time he will spend on the field during training camp.