Muhammad Wilkerson Contract: Latest News and Rumors on Negotiations with Jets

Defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson will reportedly play out the final year of his contract after he and the New York Jets failed to agree to a contract extension prior to Week 1, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Darryl Slater of NJ.com confirmed Rapoport's report.

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Jets at Risk of Wilkerson Hitting Free Agency

Thursday, Sept. 10

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports added on Sept. 10 that a deal is unlikely to come after the season, in which case the Jets could tag, tag and trade, or receive a compensatory pick for Wilkerson if he leaves the team in free agency.

The 25-year-old Temple product is coming off another strong campaign that saw him register 56 tackles and six sacks in 13 games. That was on the heels of a 10.5-sack season in 2013.

Wilkerson promises to be a huge part of Gang Green's planned ascent, and he makes up one-third of what could become the best defensive line in football along with rookie Leonard Williams and Sheldon Richardson, who is suspended for the first four games of the season.

"Anything regarding my contract you have to talk to the people upstairs," Wilkerson said, per Rich Cimini of ESPN.com on Sept. 8.

"We have money allocated for Mo," Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan said, per Dom Cosentino of NJ.com on May 14. "We'd like to keep Mo a Jet for a long time. But, again, it's a process."

New York isn't in imminent danger of losing Wilkerson, as he can always be franchised during the offseason, but such a move would risk alienating one of the team's top players.

Reaching a long-term contract of some kind is the ideal scenario for everyone involved at this point, but unless Wilkerson has backed off his previous claims, it doesn't look as though one will be agreed upon until next offseason at the earliest.

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