Christian Wilkins, who was released by the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday, kissed a fellow player on the head and the teammate took offense to it, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The incident was not the sole reason Wilkins was cut, sources said. Wilkins has been recovering from a Jones fracture, which he suffered in his left foot last October.
Because of how Wilkins has treated the rehab from his injury, the Raiders voided the remaining $35.2 million of guaranteed money left on his contract June 4, sources said. He was released with the designation of terminated vested veteran, sources told Schefter. Wilkins asked the NFL Players Association to file a grievance on his behalf, and the union did so Thursday.
Last week’s incident happened inside a team meeting room. One source told ESPN that the interaction was “playful,” but the teammate didn’t see it that way. It’s not known what the fellow player did following the incident.
A complaint was filed to the Raiders’ human resources department, which investigated the incident, a source told Schefter.
“I have no comment to make. We made a decision on what we’re doing, and we’re moving with it,” Raiders coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday. “We’ll see how that unveils itself in time.”
Defensive tackle Adam Butler said the team has “moved on from the situation,” but added: “Whatever you’re going through as a person, athlete, non-athlete or whoever … Whatever your struggle is, if you’ve got something going on in life, just, talk to somebody. Get some therapy. Somebody out there in this world will hear you out.”
Last offseason, Wilkins signed a four-year, $110 million deal, including $84.75 million guaranteed, with Las Vegas. He had spent the previous five seasons with the Miami Dolphins, with whom he posted a career-best nine sacks in 2023.
He collected 17 tackles, 2 sacks and 6 quarterback hits in just five games in 2024 before undergoing season-ending surgery for the Jones fracture.
ESPN’s Ryan McFadden contributed to this report.