Dolphins DT Christian Wilkins On Extension Talks

The 2023 offseason has been defined in large part by the upward movement of the defensive tackle market, with several young producers at the position landing lucrative extensions. The next in line appears to be Christian Wilkins, who recently addressed his situation with the Dolphins.

When speaking to the media about the status of contract talks, Wilkins declined to provide an update on the progress of negotiations. He did say, however, “I definitely feel like I’ve done enough and done a lot to earn a new deal and a new contract; but again, I’m just focusing on ball and improving every day and just giving my all to this organization and hopefully they’ll give their all back to me” (h/t Pro Football Network’s Adam Beasley).

The Dolphins have had an extension for the 27-year-old on their radar for several months now. Both team and player have expressed a desire to work out a deal, and plenty of recent precedent exists for a framework of an agreement. Daron Payne, Jeffery Simmons, Dexter Lawrence and Quinnen Williams have all hammered out deals averaging between $22.5MM and $24MM per year in 2023. In spite of those examples, an extension does not seem imminent at this point.

Wilkins is on the books for $10.75MM this season on the fifth-year option, and as Beasley notes, the franchise tag would loom as a possibility in 2024 in the absence of an extension being finalized. The one-year tender would be worth a projected $21MM, making it less expensive than the AAV of a long-term deal. However, the Clemson product’s cap hit would be problematic if the tag were to be used, considering Miami’s financial outlook. The Dolphins are currently slated to be more than $32MM over the cap in 2024.

In one fashion or another, Wilkins should be a central figure in Miami’s long-term plans after he delivered another strong performance last season. He expressed a desire to “carry the torch” for high-end DTs of previous generations as part of the position’s current surging market, though. That certainly suggests a hometown discount will not be in play in this case. Neither party in negotiations has provided a timeline for negotiations to be completed, but time does still remain to work out a deal before the start of the season. How much progress is made in the coming days and weeks will be worth watching closely.