The Denver Broncos may not have to worry about the Las Vegas Raiders at all in the 2025 NFL Season.
The Raiders improved this offseason but are still, comfortably, the worst team in the AFC West. They 'upgraded' at head coach and quarterback to Pete Carroll and Geno Smith. Carroll was not a head coach in 2024, and Smith was traded to the Raiders from the Seattle Seahawks for a third-round pick.
This is an average duo at best in a loaded division in conference, so the team should be a non-factor in 2025. Well, one of their big-name players was surely seeking to return from injury for 2025, but that might not be the case...
Raiders' DT Christian Wilkins is in a walking boot...
This is not good for the Raiders...
#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
Wilkins actually suffered this foot injury during the Raiders Week 5 blowout loss against the Denver Broncos, and this would now make it eight months post-injury. I am no doctor, but Wilkins still being in a walking boot is a bit worrisome for the Raiders.
He was their big-time free agency signing last offseason after spending the first chunk of his career with the Miami Dolphins. He and Maxx Crosby were supposed to form one of the best DL duos in the NFL, but at this point, it does not seem certain that Wilkins' foot will be healthy enough to be ready for the start of the 2025 NFL Season.
And if that's the case, this is nothing but a brutal blow for the Raiders. This team doesn't have a ton of reason to be optimistic for 2025, so not having one of their best players would be a tough reality to live in.
Christian Wilkins was signed by former GM Tom Telesco, who was fired after just one season.