It seems Muhammad Wilkerson isn't particularly interested in showing up for the start of the first offseason program for the new-look New York Jets. Rumors have it that Wilkerson, unhappy with his lack of a new - and well-earned - long-term deal, will stay away for the time being.
"Wilkerson's camp did not immediately return calls for comment, but NFL sources said contract talks have not progressed," reports Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. "Wilkerson is keeping a low profile and working out, but this is a situation worth monitoring after the Jets were one of the league's heaviest spending teams in free agency, landing free agents like Darrelle Revis ($39M guaranteed at age 29) and Antonio Cromartie, as well as giving agiing linebacker David Harris $15M guaranteed and trading for veteran receiver Brandon Marshall, sweetening his contract in the process."
Wilkerson will make approximately $7 million next season after the Jets picked up the fifth-year option on his rookie deal.
The fact that new head coach Todd Bowles and GM Mike Maccagnan went into the NFL free agency period and spent an exorbitant sum to bring in outside players like Revis, Cromartie and Marshall had to be difficult to watch for a guy like Wilkerson, the Jets former first-round pick in the 2011 draft - even as it excited the fanbase to no end - and a player that has turned himself into one of the NFL's most versatile and dominant defensive lineman.
Bowles and Maccagnan's decision to spend so much on outside resources could potentially creative a negative feeling inside the lockerroom if homegrown talent suddenly feels underpaid and underappreciated, but the hefty new deal for an aging Harris should go a long way toward assuaging any of the other Jets vets' anger.
Wilkerson though, finished last season with 55 tackles, one forced fumble, 5.5 sacks and five passes defensed in just 13 games of work and may feel like some of that money spent on splashy free agents signings should have gone toward securing his services for the foreseeable future.
While Wilkerson has not yet made a Pro Bowl team, he was named second-team All-NFL after a 2013 season that saw him collect 63 tackles, 10.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one interception and three passes defensed. He is one of the best 3-4 defensive linemen in the league, behind perhaps only Houston's J.J. Watt, who recently received a massive contract worth $100 million over six-years with almost $52 million guaranteed.
At 25 and already in his fifth season out of Temple, Wilkerson seemingly still has room to grow as an NFL player despite his already strong, consistent production. It remains up to the Jets new brass to determine if he'll continue that development as a member of one of the league's two New York franchises or not.
