It's not easy to look back at decisions and wonder what might have been. That could be the case for one former member of the Miami Dolphins.
One season ago, Chris Grier made the decision not to give defensive tackle Christian Wilkins a big contract extension. Wilkins eventually signed with the Las Vegas Raiders, who made him one the highest-paid defensive lineman in the NFL.
Wilkins was supposed to provide another formidable force next to Maxx Crosby, but he seemingly is still feeling the effects of a Jones fracture in his foot that ended his 2024 season after five games. A recent photo shows Wilkins in a walking boot on the same foot that he injured last year.
#Raiders DT Christian Wilkins is back in a walking boot (he was in attendance at Kyle Van Voy's charity golf challenge yesterday). It's the same foot where he suffered a Jones Fracture last October. pic.twitter.com/Uyro8XWUrD
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) June 24, 2025
Former Dolphins star Christian Wilkins has been a disaster signing for the Raiders
This changes everything about Wilkins' outlook for the 2025 season. At the very least, his availability for training camp and the preseason is now in jeopardy. It makes you wonder if he suffered a setback somewhere along the way, but that has not been reported.
At the rate sports science and medicine has evolved, athletes can recover from ACL tears and even Achilles injuries within a year of the incident. Jaelan Phillips is proof of that.
Foot injuries, though, are a different problem and many take a lot longer to fully recover from. Some may never heal to 100%.
It is impossible to know if Wilkins would have sustained the same injury if the Dolphins gave him a $110 million contract. But you can understand why fans were hesitant for Grier to hand him a blank check. His production warranted a massive contract ahead of his age-29 season.
Regardless, the Dolphins avoided a potentially disastrous situation by letting Williams walk. While it did cost them a potential third-round compensatory pick, they did receive a fourth-rounder for losing Wilkins.
Hopefully the former Dolphin is able to get back on the field in timely fashion.