Seahawks just had star defensive lineman surprisingly fall right in their laps

The Seattle Seahawks have made no secret of how they want to win in 2025 and beyond. The team trusts head coach Mike Macdonald to mold his defense into an elite unit. Over the second half of last year, the defense ranked in the top five in the league.

It came as no surprise that general manager John Schneider brought nearly everyone back from the 2024 defense. Defenses have historically improved further in a second year under Macdonald. Unlike last year, when Macdonald was installing his defense while learning how to run training camp as a first-time head coach, things should run more smoothly this camp and into the season.

So why not add even more talent to the unit? The Seahawks might have just gotten the gift of being able to sign Christian Wilkins, who was shockingly released by the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday. Maybe.

The Seattle Seahawks should kick the tires on bringing in defensive tackle Christian Wilkins

It gets very complicated with Wilkins. He has shown the ability from his defensive tackle spot to pressure quarterbacks, but he is extremely good against the run. He is the kind of player that opposing offenses have to account for along the interior of the D-line. He also wouldn't have to play 70 percent of the snaps, but be part of an already excellent rotation.

That brings up the biggest question about Wilkins, however. Will he be available to play. He fractured his foot last October and played in only five games in his first season with the Raiders after becoming a star with the Miami Dolphins. He had surgery to try to fix the issue.

Las Vegas placed Wilkins on the physically unable to perform list this offseason and wanted the DT to have a second surgery. Wilkins wanted to try to rehab instead, knowing another surgery could force the 29-year-old to miss the entire 2025 season. It seems that due to Wilkins' refusal, the Raiders thought it better to simply release the defensive lineman.

In doing so, the Raiders voided the guaranteed money left on the contract Wilkins signed with the team last offseason due to "failure to maintain his physical condition to play." That added up to $35.2 million. On Thursday, the NFLPA filed a grievance on behalf of Wilkins to stop Las Vegas from voiding the guaranteed money.

The Seattle Seahawks, or any team, will have to do their due diligence if they want to try to sign Christian Wilkins. Does he need the second foot surgery as the Raiders requested of him? Or will rehab work? If the answer is yes to the latter, he is absolutely worth kicking the tires on.

Wilkins will make an already good Seattle defense even better with his ability to disrupt the interior of an opposing offensive line. A rotation of Leonard Williams, Wilkins, Jarran Reed, and Byron Murphy II would be elite both against the run and supplying interior pressure.

If proven healthy enough to play, Wilkins will want to get paid a bunch, especially after potentially losing out on the guaranteed money from the Raiders. The Seahawks have the cap room now and in the future to sign him, but if there is any chance he will miss more games than he plays, Seattle should pass.