The Las Vegas Raiders do not have much to thank former general manager Tom Telesco for. After all, he was the one who brought in Gardner Minshew to be the team's starting quarterback and provided the fuel for what was a dumpster fire of a season in 2024.
However, fans had a soft spot for him because he brought in Brock Bowers, Jackson Powers-Johnson and D.J. Glaze in the NFL Draft, as well as Christian Wilkins in free agency. Wilkins, however, only played five games last season after breaking his foot in Week 5.
This offseason has brought Raider Nation plenty of stress as it pertains to Wilkins' injury situation because the six-year veteran did not participate in either OTAs or mandatory minicamp. Head coach Pete Carroll admitted it would be a difficult road for Wilkins, but fans could not envision to what extent.
Raiders' Christian Wilkins is back in a walking boot
For months, mixed reports about Wilkins' health have found their way into the spotlight, but the Raiders have done a great job of keeping this matter out of the media. Even the team's closest reporters have had a hard time deciphering if he'll be ready by Week 1.
On Tuesday, however, The Athletic's Tashan Reed found concrete evidence that Wilkins is massively behind in his recovery process. Reed attached a picture to confirm that Wilkins is now back in a walking boot on the same foot he injured last October.
#Raiders DT Christian Wilkins is back in a walking boot (he was in attendance at Kyle Van Voy's charity golf challenge yesterday). It's the same foot where he suffered a Jones Fracture last October. pic.twitter.com/Uyro8XWUrD
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) June 24, 2025
This feels like the final nail in the coffin for Wilkins, as being in a walking boot in late June is bad news for his potential availability in training camp or the preseason. Regardless, it will be difficult for him to acclimate under Pete Carroll without significant reps during OTAs and mandatory minicamp.
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Wilkins signed a four-year deal with the Raiders last offseason worth up to $110 million, so even if he misses the entire season again, the team is a bit stuck with him.
Cutting or trading him at this point would be pointless, as he would still have dead cap hits of $17.9 million and $29.8 million over the next two seasons, according to Spotrac.
There may not be an easy solution to this situation that the Silver and Black have found themselves in, outside of Wilkins magically becoming healthy again. Hopefully, he can be ready by the season and provide some solid production for the Raiders, but if not, it will go down as yet another massive swing and miss in free agency for Las Vegas.
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