So, turns out Christian Wilkins' injury is still a major problem.
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After an entire summer spent speculating about whether or not Wilkins would be ready for Raiders training camp next week, fans got their answer on Friday morning: the defensive tackle will start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list. The team announced the news in a very bleak tweet on Friday morning.
Raiders officially put Christian Wilkins on Physically Unable to Perform list
We have placed DT Christian Wilkins on the Physically Unable to Perform list. pic.twitter.com/CfzmsogsaH
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) July 18, 2025
There are two ways to look at this, one of which is way more depressing than the other. The first – which I highly suggest, no matter how delusional it might sound – is that this is equal parts necessary and precautionary. Players can be taken off the PUP list anytime before the regular season begins, so there's still a world where he could, in theory, be taken off before Week 1 in New England. And while it sounds a tiny bit delusional, Ian Rapoport's additional reporting – which mentions how much progress Wilkins has made recently – lends a little bit of credibility to that theory.
The other way to look at it is with a healthy amount of panic, which seems to be the way that most of Raiders' Twitter decided to take it. It's hard to totally blame them – still being this far back in recovery of a foot injury that happened in Week 5 of last year is, on the surface, alarming. Jones fractures are no joke, but most don't take almost a full year to heal. Considering Wilkins is one of the highest-paid free agent signings in the history of the Raiders' franchise, getting five games and two sacks through the first year of a four-year, $100 million contract doesn't feel great.
This isn't peak panic news yet, but it's close. A couple more weeks of this and we might really have a crisis on our hands. Football is back!