Raiders' Updated 2025 Salary Cap Space After Reported Christian Wilkins Release

The Las Vegas Raiders announced Thursday that they were releasing veteran Christian Wilkins, with reports that the organization was designating him as a terminated vested veteran and voiding his contract's remaining $35.2 million in guaranteed money.

According to multiple reports, the Raiders didn't feel Wilkins took the necessary steps to rehabilitate a Jones fracture in his foot. But voiding those guarantees set up a major dispute with Wilkins and the NFLPA, which already filed a grievance.

As Dianna Russini and Tashan Reed of The Athletic reported, "The typical timeline for recovery from a Jones fracture is three to four months, but Wilkins still wasn't able to practice when the Raiders began OTAs in May [he had surgery in October]. That was a clear sign something had gone awry in his recovery process."

If the Raiders are successful in justifying his voided guarantees, they would save $8 million against in 2025 and another $27.2 million in 2026. While his contract extended to 2027, none of that money was guaranteed.

Wilkins, 29, signed a four-year, $110 million deal with the Raiders ahead of the 2024 season. But he appeared in just five games, registering two sacks, 17 tackles and six quarterback hits.

He had emerged as one of the NFL's most disruptive interior forces in 2023, notching nine sacks for the Miami Dolphins, which led to his significant deal in Las Vegas. After just one season, however, that relationship has been severed, and the fight over his guaranteed money promises to be a protracted one.