Christian Wilkins was cut from the Las Vegas Raiders last summer at the same time rumors swirled that the defensive tackle kissed a teammate on the head in an unwanted advance in the locker room.
With the 2026 offseason fully underway and free agency in bloom, Wilkins is reportedly looking for a new team. Still, with no resolution to the kissing rumors from last season, is it possible that Wilkins won’t find a team that wants him?
According to ESPN beat reporter Jordan Raanan, there are still problems related to Wilkins’ reported locker room mistake. Raanan talked about whether the New York Giants might be interested in Wilkins.
“I mean, whatever happened in that locker room, I don’t know exactly what it was,” Raanan said, as reported by Raiders Beat. “But on top of the injury part, I think it just sounds like that’s going to be a tough one for him to overcome and for a team to want to be able to bring him in the locker room.
“Even if it’s Dexter (Lawrence). Lawrence is one of his closest friends. It doesn’t sound like that’s one where it’s going to be easy to bring him into your locker room.”
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Wilkins was one of the best defensive players in the NFL the last time he took the field, a fact that made it even weirder how suddenly he was released by the Raiders. Usually a player’s talent overcomes any off-field issues, even for far worse actions than what is being described for Wilkins, so for there to still be questions swirling around Wilkins means his reputation could be severely damaged within the NFL.
Christian Wilkins is still expected to play in the NFL again
Adam Schefter thinks Wilkins will be in contact with 26 different teams and will be signed as soon as he’s ready to re-enter the league. A serious foot injury sustained in 2024 could also be one of the hold-ups in his free agency.
Free-agent DT Christian Wilkins fully intends to play this season, but still is rehabbing his foot injury, per his agent David Mulugheta. So far 26 teams have reached out and are waiting for Wilkins to be ready, and Wilkins is expected to have a new home as soon as he wants. pic.twitter.com/RIZvd0mxA4
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 20, 2026
The whole story is very unusual because the original report about the kiss from Schefter was that it was a playful, non-sexual, non-intimate encounter between Wilkins and whoever he tried to smooch. This seems like typical bro-y, heteronormative locker room behavior from an athlete.
There have never been any big public rumors about Wilkins being gay or bi, and it seems odd that NFL team executives might have reservations about bringing in an LGBTQ player.
The longer he goes without a team, though, the more fuel fans have to speculate what actually happened in the Raiders locker room that might damage Wilkins’ playing prospects.
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