Pete Carroll sheds light on Christian Wilkins decision

For the Las Vegas Raiders, training camp has started off with some unfortunate news off the field.

On Thursday, the Raiders made the surprising decision to release defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. There had been conflicting reports over when Wilkins would return from the foot injury that ended his 2024 season, assuming he would return at all. However, the Raiders apparently felt differently about the matter, and former general manager Tom Telesco’s big free agent signing is out of Las Vegas after only five games.

With shock and confusion casting an ominous black cloud over training camp, Raiders head coach Pete Carroll took it upon himself to set the record straight.

Carroll explained that the Raiders did not rush into the decision to release Wilkins.

Amidst the disputes between Wilkins and the Raiders about his recovery from injury, Carroll said that the team did their due diligence before reaching their final decision.

“We took a long time to make our decision,” Carroll said during his media availability on Friday. “We watched our way through the whole thing. We’re keeping it really clear with what we said. I think there was no clear path to his return, so we just had to move on.”

Carroll’s words echo similar sentiments to a statement released by the Raiders on Thursday, where the organization said that Wilkins failed to provide details on his recovery or when he was planning to return.

Wilkins is currently in the process of filing a grievance with the Raiders, who are attempting to void a little over $35 million in guaranteed money.

With Wilkins gone, the first-team defensive tackles are currently Adam Butler and Jonah Laulu. Both players participated in all 17 games last season for the Raiders, so their new placement does not come as a surprise. The Raiders could also decide to give more playing time to Day Three rookies Tonka Hemingway and JJ Pegues, or make a move to bring an external option in for added depth.

Wilkins’s release creates a bevy of new problems for the Raiders, so it will be interesting to see how they plan to work their way out of them.