New details have emerged as to why the Las Vegas Raiders released Christian Wilkins. One of the reports involves a Wilkins kiss that offended another Raiders’ player.
Christian Wilkins Kissed Another Player On The Head
"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
ESPN’s Adam Schefter appeared on Monday’s Pat McAfee Show and provided more insight into the Raiders’ conflict with Wilkins.
The prevailing sentiment was that Wilkins’ foot injury and failed rehab led to the release. That still rings true. However, Schefter revealed that a playful kiss attempt by Wilkins toward another player might have played a role in the shocking decision to cut him.
“Speaking to people inside the locker room, I think what everybody’s dancing around and tiptoeing around is the fact that, when you speak to people there inside the locker room, they say that Christian playfully went to kiss a teammate on top of his head,” Schefter told McAfee. “Those same people said that the player took offense to it. So, that’s what everybody’s been dancing around and tap dancing around — an incident in the locker room where he allegedly, playfully kissed a teammate on top of his head. That teammate felt offended by it. That’s what a lot of this talk and speculation that people have just been floating around out there is about.”
Per Schefter, the kissing incident happened last week during a team meeting. A complaint was made to the Raiders’ human resources department, which led to an investigation.
Last week, Raiders head coach Pete Carroll said the team took a “long time” to decide on Wilkins’ future with the team.
“We took a long time to make our decision,” Carroll said via Raiders.com. “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.”
Christian Wilkins Released By Raiders
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) July 24, 2025
During the 2024 offseason, the Raiders signed Wilkins to a four-year, $110 million contract, including $84.75 million guaranteed. Wilkins appeared in five games before suffering a season-ending Jones’ fracture in his left foot.
Wilkins registered 17 tackles, 2 sacks, and 6 quarterback hits in five games. Wilkins had surgery on his fractured foot.
The Raiders voided the remaining $35.2 million of guaranteed money left on Wilkins’ contract. Las Vegas was upset with how Wilkins handled his rehab.
Wilkins then requested the NFL Players Association to file a grievance on his behalf, which they did.
