Raiders land massive DT Christian Wilkins in free agency

Going into free agency former Dolphins DT Christian Wilkins had a robust market with several teams looking to acquire the best defensive tackle on the market. The Las Vegas Raiders signed Wilkins to a four-year, $110 million deal, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. Wilkins' contract includes $84.75 million guaranteed, per Rapoport.

The Raiders will pair Wilkins with Maxx Crosby which on paper gives the Raiders one of the scariest defensive fronts in football. Wilkins just wrapped up his fifth season in the NFL and has registered 20.5 sacks, 204 solo tackles and four forced fumbles in his career. He had nine sacks, 65 total tackles and 23 quarterback hits in 2023. In 2022, he made 98 tackles to set a single-season NFL record for a defensive tackle. Since entering the league, Wilkins, 28, has been one of the best run-stoppers in the league at his position, and his 39% run stop win rate since 2019 ranks eighth among qualified defensive tackles.

Raiders new head coach Antonio Pierce said the plan this offseason was to be more physical in the trenches and build a bully. So far Pierce has lived up to that promise adding the biggest fish in the free agency pond.