As he strolled around the Las Vegas Raiders’ headquarters on Thursday, Christian Wilkins, who is billed as 6-foot-4 and 310 pounds, towered over the team’s employees.
Choosing to wear a three-piece black and white checkered suit with playing card decks embroidered on the inside of the jacket, the splash free agent signing chose to look his best on Sunday.
The star defensive tackle claimed he owned the suit for a while but that this was the ideal occasion to take it out of the closet, so the design fit him well when he arrived in Las Vegas.
The native of New England has spent his whole life on the East Coast, moving from Springfield, Massachusetts, to Clemson, South Carolina, and finally, South Florida.
Though he wasn’t too familiar with this side of the Mississippi River, he grinned broadly when asked about his earliest memories of the Raiders.
“It’s funny you say that and I love that you asked that question,” Wilkins responded. “The first football team I’ve ever played for was the Raiders.”
Yes, it is correct.
When Wilkins was a young football player, his first organized sports team was the Springfield 5A Raiders in upstate Massachusetts.
Even though the famous silver and black uniforms of his childhood football club were replaced with gold and black, the 3,000-mile away Oakland, California, team found this to be fascinating.
“I’m a student of the game and a fan of the game, so I always grew up watching guys like Warren Sapp, Jerry Rice,” Wilkins remarked, referring to his childhood favorite Raiders.
“All of those guys have done so much for this league and so much for this game that I’ve always followed along with the Raiders as a young kid even before coming into the pros.”
His choice to sign a contract with the Raiders wasn’t too tough.
He was coached by both defensive line coach Rob Leonard and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham when he first joined the Miami Dolphins.
“Pat is a football fanatic,” Wilkins remarked. Very astute. He’ll do every effort to ensure that the defense plays its best and he plays his best. He has a strong work ethic and a strong will to win. He simply has a great enthusiasm for the game.
“Having a rapport and relationship with [Graham and Leonard] is undoubtedly beneficial. I’m forward to collaborate with them once more.
Additionally, he gets to play with Maxx Crosby, one of the best edge rushers in the game. Over the course of their own careers, each have demonstrated a comparable degree of perseverance and resilience. Over the previous three seasons,
Wilkins and Crosby had not missed a single game. In 2023, they combined for 23.5 sacks against high double-team percentages.
Wilkins described Crosby as having no vulnerabilities, “honestly to me.” “He plays the game correctly and is a pretty talented player. All I can hope for is that we can grow this thing together and do things the proper way—me feeding off of him, him feeding off of me. Lead this organization to greater success. That is always the intention.
At the defense end’s first foundation dinner on Thursday night, Crosby expressed how excited he was to play with Wilkins. He has known the former Dolphin personally since their time as college roommates in the 2019 draft.
“We have a lot of mutual friends and we’ve seen each other’s journeys since day one,” Crosby stated to KTNV.”It’s amazing how quickly time passes; we attended the Combine together and had no clue that we would be playing together in our sixth year of careers. You never take a day for granted, and when you find a guy with that much energy, who is also a fantastic teammate and human being, nothing but the best is going to come our way.
“We’re fired up to play together and help build this team.”
Wilkins still approaches the game with the same innocent enthusiasm he did as a Springfield Raider as he prepares for his sixth NFL season. He’s performing on the largest stage, that’s the only distinction.
They can help the Raiders defense reach new heights and perform well for Raider Nation if everything goes as Wilkins and Crosby have envisioned.
The Raiders and Raider Nation, from the fans to everything about them, just have a certain something. dirty, abrasive, and unpleasant. As Wilkins put it, “You can tell that they’re just dogs.” “Just grinding with a ‘by any means necessary’ type of mentality is what I’m all about. Here, it is palpable.
“I’m committed to helping this organization and this city succeed. We both need a winner. I’m fully committed to doing everything in my power to support and contribute to this organization’s journey toward success.”
