Jets

Report: Jets Have Spoken To Team In Top 5 About Muhammad Wilkerson, Trade Still Considered Unlikely

April 30, 2015

Update:

According to Manish Mehta, the Jets have spoken to at least one team drafting in the Top 5 picks about DE Muhammad Wilkerson. However, Mehta says that it’s still doubtful Wilkerson will be traded.

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Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports that the Jets are not looking to trade DE Muhammad Wilkerson, despite the report from earlier in the day that mentioned teams have inquired about his availability.

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ESPN’s Adam Schefter, citing a league source, reports that “at least” two teams have approached the Jets about possibly trading DE Muhammad Wilkerson.

Schefter mentions that the Jets don’t plan to trade Wilkerson as of now, but they’re likely to listen to all offers leading up to Thursday’s draft.
According to Schefter, this is a situation that bares watching on Thursday.

Wilkerson reportedly did not report for the first day of the Jets’ offseason program and it’s unclear whether he intends to take part in any offseason work with the club. The Jets can’t begin fining Wilkerson for skipping workouts until June.

As things stand right now, Wilkerson is playing out the 2015 season under the fifth-year option. However, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports mentions that contract talks between the two parties have not progressed in recent months.

The Jets exercised Wilkerson’s fifth-year option, which means that he’ll make a base salary of $6.969 million for the 2015. Although, this salary is not guaranteed and won’t prevent the two sides from working out a long-term extension.

It’s been a little surprising that the Jets haven’t got a long-term deal in place with, arguable, their best player. The fact that other teams have at least reached out the Jets about possibly trading Wilkerson shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as they’re likely doing their due diligence.

Wilkerson, 25, is already among the best defensive linemen in the NFL and has clearly earned for a big raise.

The Jets will still have their franchise tag at their disposal in 2016 in case negotiations don’t go anywhere over the next year.

According to OverTheCap.com, trading Wilkerson would free up $6,969,000 in available cap space while creating no dead money.

In 2014, Wilkerson appeared in 13 games and recorded 56 tackles, six sacks, one forced fumble and and five pass defenses. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 3 defensive end in a 3-4 system.