Defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson reportedly skipped a walk through and defensive meeting on a day the New York Jets planned to celebrate his birthday.
New York Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson has come under fire recently. He signed a massive contract extension worth $86 million over five years with $53.5 million guaranteed. He has not lived up to that contract yet; he is on pace for the lowest numbers of his career since his rookie season.
While Wilkerson is not showing up on the field, it sounds like he is not showing up during the week either. Wilkerson has been punished before for being late to meetings during the week; he missed the first quarter of the game against the New York Giants last December for being late for a meeting.
At least he showed up to that one. According to ESPN New York’s Rich Cimini, a league source confirmed that Wilkerson no-showed a walk through and defensive meeting on October 22nd. To make matter worse, the Jets had planned to serve cake to celebrate the defensive ends’ 27th birthday.
That absence came the day before the Jets were to face the Baltimore Ravens. Wilkerson missed that game because of an ankle injury, but that is no reason to just blow off meetings and a walk through.
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The news of the no-show surfaced following the Jets loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Wilkerson and fellow defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson were both absent from the game in the first quarter against the Dolphins. Head coach Todd Bowles would not elaborate on the reasoning for the first quarter benchings.
“It’s a coach’s decision,” Bowles said Monday, repeating what he said after the game. “My decisions I make outside of injuries and football are usually handled in-house. I don’t divulge that kind of information, one way or the other.”
This is becoming a troubling trend for two of the better players on the Jets defense. According to sources Wilkerson and Richardson have been reprimanded multiple times throughout the season, but this is the first time that playing time was taken away.
There is no definitive reasoning for the benching, but based on prior experiences, being late to a meeting is a solid guess. This not what the Jets wanted to see after handing Wilkerson such a big contract during the offseason and Richardson looking to land a lucrative deal this offseason as well.
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Richardson is set to become a free agent this offseason and is in line for a huge contract. But, he comes with a ton of baggage. He has served suspensions to begin the season in 2015 and 2016 and is a big risk for any team that wants to hand him a long-term deal. It could be the Jets, but with Wilkerson locked up long-term and Leonard Williams breaking out they should put those resources elsewhere on the roster.