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Christian Wilkins release saga receives surprising twist

Originally posted on Dice City Sports | By Derek Hegna | Last updated Jul 29, 2025 11:40 AM ET

The situation surrounding the decision of the Las Vegas Raiders to release defensive tackle Christian Wilkins continued to evolve.

On Thursday, the Raiders released Wilkins on a terminated vested veteran designation. The two sides have argued about Wilkins’s rehabilitation process from his Jones fracture that ended his only season in Las Vegas. The Raiders are seeking to void the remaining $35.2 million in guaranteed money left on Wilkins’s deal, and the defensive tackle has already filed a grievance with the NFLPA in regards to the matter.

It appears the Raiders and Wilkins were destined for a messy divorce, but new information is certain to add further intrigue to the matter.

Wilkins’s conduct in the locker room could be another reason for his release.

Over the weekend, new information came to light suggesting that Wilkins had an incident with a former teammate. Raiders insider Nick Walters compiled the information from various reports, adding that, despite the team keeping the other players involved in the matter anonymous, the incident came across as weird.

Christian Wilkins reportedly had an ‘incident’ with a teammate that led to his release by the #Raiders, league sources tell @JosinaAnderson.

Sources within the team are being careful and won’t leak many details. One says ‘it was weird… like, a very weird incident,’ per… pic.twitter.com/KTOwNVEAOb

— Nick Walters (@nickwalt) July 26, 2025

On Sunday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter elaborated further on the issue on an episode of The Pat McAfee Show. According to Schefter, the incident involved Wilkins jokingly kissing a teammate on the head, with the other player not taking kindly to the gesture.

“From speaking to people inside the Raiders locker room…

They say that Christian Wilkins playfully went to kiss a teammate on the top of his head..

They say that player took offense to it and that’s what everybody has been dancing around”@AdamSchefter #PMSLive https://t.co/das6W3HesB pic.twitter.com/MGfjATaiNh

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 28, 2025

The update could lead teams to question Wilkins’s locker room demeanor, resulting in a smaller market for his services than if the matter were as simple as recovering from his injury.

It sounds more as though Wilkins’s release was just the beginning of what is sure to be a controversial chapter in Raiders history.

This article first appeared on Dice City Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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