The Raiders have re-signed defensive tackle John Jenkins, per ESPN’s Amber Wilson. It will be a one-year, $3.25MM pact for the 34-year-old.
Las Vegas signed Jenkins to a one-year deal last March, and he wound up starting all 17 games for the club in 2023 while piling up a career-high 61 total tackles. That mark was also the highest among all of the Raiders’ interior defenders last season (h/t Levi Damien of Raiders Wire).
That said, Pro Football Focus was not particularly high on his work, assigning Jenkins a middling 61.2 overall grade and a 55.6 mark for his efforts against the run. Still, he was a key part of a unit that finished eighth in defensive DVOA in 2023, and GM Tom Telesco and head coach Antonio Pierce clearly believed that Jenkins and fellow D-lineman Adam Butler, who was re-upped just yesterday, were worthy of another contract.
Of course, the Raiders’ biggest splash this offseason was the acquisition of former Dolphin Christian Wilkins on a four-year, $110M deal. Wilkins will replace Bilal Nichols — who recently signed with the Cardinals — and his presence will only help Jenkins and Butler, who will likely get the most reps at the other DT spot. Keeping Jenkins and Butler around will also allow the club to continue developing recent draftees like Byron Young, Matthew Butler, and Nesta Jade Silvera in a reserve capacity. Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal expects Telesco to continue fortifying the defensive line in the upcoming draft.
Per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Dolphins — who employed Jenkins in 2019 and then again from 2021-22 — brought their former defender in for a vist a few days ago as part of their extensive efforts to replace Wilkins’ production. We do not know if Miami extended an offer.
More must-reads: