Friday, April 11, 2014

Wilkerson confident in Idzik: 'He's a man with a plan'

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson is the kind of guy the New York Jets would be best served keeping around for the long haul.

If Wilkerson has his way, that's exactly what will happen.

"I told them at the end of the year last year that I want to be a Jet — a Jet for life," Wilkerson told The NY Post Thursday. "I’m from the area [Linden, N.J.], I’m a local guy, so I would love to be here and finish my career here."

As we wrote earlier this offseason, while the Jets are having future contract talks with Wilkerson's camp, they're in a very favorable position with the elite defensive lineman. He's under contract through this season, and the team is likely to exercise a fifth-year option, making him a Jet at least through 2015.

And if Gang Green somehow doesn't get a new deal done in the next two years, he'll be eligible for the franchise tag in 2016.

All that aside, Wilkerson says he's just focused on football and is letting his agent hash out the details. But more importantly, he insists he won't hold out if things get hairy, and he's confident in general manager John Idzik's blueprint to turn the Jets into winners.

". . . he’s a man with a plan," Wilkerson said. "We’re going to rally behind him and do what we have to do."

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