"Transactional nature of insider game": Mike Florio doesn't hold back on Adam Schefter's alleged biased reporting about Christian Wilkins

Christian Wilkins has been in the spotlight since the Las Vegas Raiders released him on Friday. Wilkins reportedly signed a four-year deal worth $110 million with the Raiders in March 2024.

NBC analyst Mike Florio slammed ESPN's Adam Schefter for reporting that Wilkins allegedly went to kiss a teammate on his head in a playful manner, but the unnamed player took offense at the defensive tackle's actions. On Tuesday's episode of "PFT Live," Florio accused Schefter of biased reporting around Wilkins' release from Las Vegas.

“Christian Wilkins has representation that is charged with finding him a job," Florio said. "So what do you do? You work the angles. You work your sources. Let’s call it what it is: David Mulugheta represents Christian Wilkins. He’s working Schefty to get Schefty to put a story out there that is favorable to Wilkins. Let’s just say what that is. ‘Let’s put a favorable story out there so someone else will pay him a lot of money.’ That’s how it works."

Florio also used Micah Parsons's contract talks with the Dallas Cowboys as an example of Schefter's bias.

“Why does the reporter do it? Because it pays off on the backend," Florio said. "For example, when Micah Parsons signs his contract, Schefter may be the first one to report it now. Because it’s the same agent representing both guys. That’s the transactional nature of the insider game.

"Every once in a while you eat a little sh*t, you push something that may not be accurate or you let somebody tell you a lie that you put out there because you know they’ll owe you one and they’ll make it up to you on the backend because that other stuff doesn’t really get notice and scrutinized the way it should. That happens. That’s the game. And he’s not the only one who plays it. They all play it, and it’s one of the reasons why I don’t.”

A few days ago, Florio said the rumor mill is swirling with “junk” around Wilkins' Raiders exit, and that hasn’t been properly verified.

Some rumors also claimed that Wilkins' release was tied to a dispute over his foot injury. The Raiders reportedly wanted their star DT to undergo another procedure, but when he pushed back on the operation, they chose to cut him and void the rest of his guaranteed money in the process.

Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores hints at working with Christian Wilkins for 2025 season

Former Las Vegas Raiders DT Christian Wilkins - Source: Getty

On Monday, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores hinted that the team could make a move to sign Christian Wilkins for the 2025 season since the player is now a free agent.

"I have a lot of history with Christian," Flores said. "I kind of let Kwesi and his staff handle that side. We've got a group we feel pretty good about D-line wise, but I don't mind adding more. But I let those guys handle that."

Wilkins was Flores’ first draft pick in 2019 as the Miami Dolphins' coach. They worked together for the three seasons before Flores was fired.

During his only season with the Raiders, Wilkins played five games, recording 17 tackles. It remains to be seen whether he can find a new team ahead of the upcoming season.