Regardless of if former Jets DE Muhammad Wilkerson lands on an NFL team in 2020, he won’t play at the start of the season.
Per ESPN’s Field Yates, the NFL suspended Wilkerson for the first two games of the season after he was charged and arrested in March for DWI, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia by New Jersey State Police. It was his second drunk driving arrest in 12 months.
Wilkerson hasn’t played since 2018 as a member of the Green Bay Packers after he spent the previous seven seasons with the Jets. While he only played in three games with the Packers and tallied five total tackles, he initially flourished with the Jets after being drafted 30th overall in 2011. He combined for 44.5 sacks, 410 combined tackles, 11 forced fumbles and 103 quarterback hits in New York.
Wilkerson, along with Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams, formed a formidable trio on the Jets defensive line that tallied 20 combined sacks in 2011. That season also featured Wilkerson’s best year as a pro, as he recorded 12.5 sacks, was selected for his first and only Pro Bowl and signed a lucrative five-year, $83 million contract extension with $53 million in guaranteed money the following offseason.
Wilkerson failed to live up to his new contract and tallied just eight sacks and 104 total tackles in the two years after his extension. The Jets cut him after the 2017 season. He signed with the Packers soon after but suffered a serious ankle injury that forced him to miss all but three games of the 2018 season. Wilkerson didn’t sign with any team after the 2018 season.
Wilkerson recently turned 30, but his off-the-field history, coupled with his declining production, doesn’t bode well for a return to the league.
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