The Las Vegas Raiders defense took a big hit with the news that DL Christian Wilkins will head to IR after suffering a Jones Fracture in the Raiders’ loss to the Denver Broncos. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported the news. With the Steelers heading to Las Vegas to play the Raiders on Sunday, they now obviously will not see Wilkins.
Wilkins had played well for the Raiders in the last three games. After joining the team as a free agent from the Miami Dolphins, he’s tallied two sacks and eight tackles in the last three weeks, including at least 0.5 sack each week. He has 17 total tackles this season and was a key piece to the interior of Las Vegas’ defense, complementing Maxx Crosby on the edge.
With Wilkins out, it’ll either be 2023 seventh-round pick Nesta Jade Silvera or veteran John Jenkins filling in for Wilkins against the Steelers on Sunday.
Crosby is someone the Steelers will have to key on and defend against, but not having Wilkins in the middle of the defense makes things easier for Pittsburgh and will help them in both the pass and run game. It’s now the third week in a row the Steelers are playing a team missing a big piece on the defense line, as the Indianapolis Colts were down DeForest Buckner and Kwity Paye, while the Dallas Cowboys didn’t have Micah Parsons or DeMarcus Lawrence.
Of course, the Steelers have lost each of the last two weeks, so just because Wilkins is out shouldn’t mean the Steelers treat the game and their approach any differently. But there’s no doubt that Wilkins is a big loss, and his not playing should make things easier for Pittsburgh’s offensive line in what’s shaping up to be a very important game for the Steelers as they look to avoid losing three straight and falling to .500.
