Muhammad Wilkerson Would “Love” To Play For 49ers?

According to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, Jets DL Muhammad Wilkerson would “love” to play for the 49ers and is looking for a fresh start.

Barrows mentions that 49ers have the cap space to lock Wilkerson up to a long-term deal and have an obvious need at defensive end.

Interestingly enough, Barrows proposes the 49ers sending their No. 7 overall pick to the Jets for Wilkerson and their No. 20 overall pick and possibly some other selections.

This is assuming that Cal QB Jared Goff would still be on the board for the Jets at No. 7 overall, but it’s interestingly nonetheless.

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports recently reported that the Jets are still looking for a first-round pick in return for Wilkerson. However, Robinson believes there’s at least a chance that Wilkerson could be traded in the coming weeks.

In the event there’s no trade to be made involving Wilkerson, Robinson mentions that the Jets could elect to hold onto him and work on a potential contract extension.

Rich Cimini of ESPN previously spoke with officials from four different teams at the owners meetings about the idea of the Jets trading Wilkerson and one official described the chances of a deal happening as: “Next to impossible.”

Wilkerson, 26, 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.

The franchise tag will run the Jets $15.701 million fully guaranteed for the 2016 season, but won’t prevent them from negotiating a long-term deal that would reduce this figure and offer them some additional cap space.

In 2015, Wilkerson recorded 59 tackles, 12 sacks, two forced fumbles and six pass defenses over the course of 15 games. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 5 defensive end in a 3-4 system out of 57 qualifying players.

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