Muhammad Wilkerson “Virtually Certain” To Be Playing Elsewhere In 2018

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that Jets DL Muhammad Wilkerson is “virtually certain” to be playing elsewhere in 2018 and both parties are “bracing for a split” this offseason.

Recent reports have said that Wilkerson may not suit up again for the Jets this year after he was left home last week for being late to another team meeting.

According to La Canfora, Wilkerson expects to be released by the Jets this offseason and it would come as a surprise if New York actually paid him $17 million for the 2018 season.

If the Jets made the decision to release Wilkerson during the season, La Canfora says that multiple playoff teams would likely have interest in adding him. La Canfora specifically says that the Patriots, Chiefs and Ravens were all high on Wilkerson in college.

Wilkerson, 27, is a former first-round pick of the Jets back in 2011. He played out his rookie contract with the team and was in line to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason before the Jets used their franchise tag on him last year.

The Jets surprisingly locked him up to a five-year, $86 million contract that included $53.5 million guaranteed just before the deadline. Wilkerson stands to make base salaries of $14.75 million and $16.75 million over the next two years of the agreement.

According to OverTheCap.com, releasing Wilkerson next year would free up $11 million of available cap space while creating $9 million in dead money. However, the Jets could improve those figures to $17 million of cap room and just $3 million of dead money by designating him as a post-June 1 release.

In 2017, Wilkerson has appeared in 13 games for the Jets and recorded 46 tackles, 3.5 sacks, an interception, and four pass defenses. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 52 interior defender out of 117 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding Wilkerson’s future with the Jets as the news is available.