Report: Muhammad Wilkerson Will Skip OTA's

Rich Cimini says Muhammad Wilkerson will miss OTA's.

Defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, who skipped the first six weeks of the off-season program, won't participate in OTAs. He will continue to stay away, working out on his own. Wilkerson is heading into the final year of his contract, due to make $6.97 million, and he's not happy with the pace of negotiations. The Jets have said they'd like to extend him, but they drafted Leonard Williams in the first round, clouding Wilkerson's future. He won't show up until next month's mandatory minicamp, if then.

OTA's are voluntary, but players seeking new contracts sometimes skip these offseason activities to send a message.

This isn't anything necessarily to be overly worried with at this point. We will have to see whether Wilkerson attends events once they become mandatory.

At some point, the contract situation will need to be resolved. Depending on how hard Wilkerson is willing to push, he might force a resolution sooner rather than later. My guess, however, is the two sides work out something long-term in the not too distant future. It is what makes sense for both sides. The Jets don't want one of their best players hitting the market, and Wilkerson wants to be paid now rather than risking a serious injury or drop in production hurts his market value.