Things are bad for the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. For the first time during head coach Mike Tomlin’s tenure, the Steelers defense allowed at least 31 points in each of the first two games of the season. Much of the problems is attributed to lackluster play by the defensive line. This extends well beyond the absence of rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon and we don’t see his upcoming return as the fix to this unit’s issues.
Desperate times call for desperate measures and since most teams aren’t going to be willing to just trade away elite defensive tackles, the Steelers may need to check in on free-agent defensive tackle Christian Wilkins to see if he’s healthy and motivated to play some football this season.
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The Las Vegas Raiders released Wilkins in late July and looked to have $35.2 million of his contract voided due to what the team perceived as Wilkins not taking his rehab seriously. Wilkins suffered a foot injury in the fifth game of the 2024 season and ended up on the season-ending IR. There was also some rumor about some character stuff with Wilkins but this whole thing was more about Wilkins and the Raiders disputing where he should have been in his rehab.
When healthy, Wilkins’ talent isn’t in question. At 6-foot-4 and 310 pounds, he is a perfect fit for what the Steelers do on defense. He is an absolute force of nature in the middle of the defensive line. The obvious caveat to this is that there is no information out there pertaining to his health and if he is fit to play, even if he wanted to. A motivated and healthy Wilkins could be a game-changer on this defense.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Should the Steelers kick the tires on DT Christian Wilkins?