You'd think that, considering no one's actually played any games yet, most would hold off on declaring anyone from the 2024 NFL free agent class a "regret." It's awfully early to be slinging that term around, and the last thing anyone wants is to end up on some dopey Old Takes Exposed tweet.
Not Bleacher Report, though. The brave folks at BR aren't worried about calling their shots apparently – and they've made an enemy in Raiders Twitter in the process. In a way, you sort of have to respect it.
In their latest summer listicle, titled 'Recent Blockbuster NFL Contracts That Teams Are Likely to Regret,' BR has the courage to call basically every major contract given out this summer into question. If you signed someone for nine figures this offseason, BR hated it. So bold! And of course, Christian Wilkins made the list.
Christian Wilkins is already being labeled a 'regret' for Raiders
The 28-year-old Wilkins isn't a game-changer. He's never been an All-Pro of any kind or even a Pro Bowler, he's never posted an approximate value in the double digits, and he's never had a campaign with 10 sacks or more than two forced fumbles. And yet he'll count more than $30 million against the cap in 2025, 2026 and 2027.
There's a bit too much naivety about how "careers" and "contracts" work in this explanation to take it all that seriously, but BR's entitled to their own opinion just like anyone else. $30 million against the cap for three years isn't even the end of the world, especially for a team that desperately needed interior line help and is flush with cash.
Maybe Wilkins never replicates his 2023 season and BR gets to take a big ol' victory lap talking about how much they know ball. But maybe he continues progressing, as 28 year old football players often do, and they just bury the article and pretend it never happened. But that's the point: no one knows yet! And perhaps – speaking of naivety – getting angry about BR predictions in June is equally as silly, but that's life. It's silly szn for us all right now.