The Miami Dolphins’ decision not to place the franchise tag on star defensive tackle Christian Wilkins caught a lot of people by surprise.
Wilkins, 28, is coming off a career-best 2023 performance in which the former first-round pick tallied 23 QB hits and nine sacks. He’s seen as one of the better interior pass rushers in the league today and is just now hitting his prime.
With Miami allowing Wilkins to hit NFL free agency, the assumption is that he will depart for a large check in another city. Here, we look at four ideal landing spots.
Related: Christian Wilkins and the top NFL free agents
New England Patriots nab player from division rival
Wilkins is an interesting case study in that he can play inside in a basic 4-3 defense and out on the edge in a 3-4. It’s going to make the sweepstakes for his services in free agency rather interesting. We absolutely love New England as a fit for the Dolphins star.
The Pats currently find themselves $91.49 millio under the 2024 NFL salary cap. They could certainly use another lineman under new head coach Jerod Mayo. The idea of Wilkins teaming up with stud youngster Christian Barmore might be too hard for the Patriots to pass up on.
Chicago Bears pony up the cash for Christian Wilkins
Chicago also finds itsef in a great cap situation heading into NFL free agency with roughly $80 million to spend. We fully expect general manager Ryan Poles to use a ton of that in order to help Chicago overcome its recent struggles.
Poles has also shown the willingness to invest on the defensive line. That included acquiring Montez Sweat ahead of the in-season NFL trade deadline, only to sign him to a four-year, $98 million contract extension. Wilkins would obviously be a tremendous fit next to Sweat in the Bears’ defensive front. They have the need. They have the cash. Why not?
Related: 2024 NFL salary cap tracker
Houston Texans add to talented young defense
Houston is an intriguing team heading into NFL free agency. Fresh off a surprising playoff appearance, DeMeco Ryans and Co. have north of $70 million to spend. That’s a whole heck of a lot of cash. And while the Texans have been linked more to skill-position players for stud young quarterback C.J. Stroud, Wilkins would make sense.
The idea here would be for Wilkins to team up with stud youngster Will Anderson Jr. as well as the surprising Jonathan Greenard in Houston’s front four. That’d give the Texans three players fully capable of recording double-digit sacks.
Christian Wilkins heads to the Las Vegas Raiders
Simply put, Maxx Crosby needs more help on the Raiders’ defensive line. He is the only current member of this unit capable of recording sacks on a consistent basis. It certainly is something that new general manager Tom Telesco must fix.
It’s also important to note that the Raiders have three defensive tackles slated to hit free agency. This position is an area of utmost need. Why not use the money saved by releasing Jimmy Garoppolo on someone of Wilkins’ ilk? It just makes too much sense.