The New York Jets and Muhammad Wilkerson have come to terms on a multi-year agreement, the team announced on Friday.
Big Mo. Locked up.
We've signed @mowilkerson to a multi-year extension: DETAILS >> https://t.co/7aqw4w3JNS pic.twitter.com/UuG2O9QcXO
— New York Jets (@nyjets) July 15, 2016
While the Jets did not announce the terms of the deal, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport passed this along:
The #Jets and Mo Wilkerson have a reached an extension that pays him roughly $17M per year, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 15, 2016
#Jets 5-yr deal for Mo Wilkerson is for more than $85M, source said, with $54M in guarantees over 3 years. $37M fully guaranteed thru year 2
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 15, 2016
The devil is in the details, of course. It remains to be seen how much of the contract is guaranteed, but this does put an end to what appeared to be the most contentious contract negotiations of any franchised player this offseason.
Wilkerson and the Jets have not been able to come close to an agreement for the past two years. With that in mind, one wonders what it was that prompted the organization to make this move at this time.
After all, the franchise also has two other 3-4 defensive ends that are more than capable of holding their own in Leonard Williams and Sheldon Richardson.
That said, Wilkerson is one of the NFL’s top interior defenders. He racked up 12 sacks last season and has 36.5 sacks since joining the team in 2011 as a first-round pick out of Temple.
Needless to say, the Jets are loaded up front and should feature one of the NFL’s top defenses in 2016.