Defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson will likely attend the New York Jets' mandatory minicamp next week after missing the organized team activities earlier this offseason and discussed his contract issues with the team.
Wilkerson has wanted a long-term deal from the Jets as he is set to enter the final year of his previous pact with the team when the new season begins.
The present deal will earn the 25-year-old $6.97 million which is the amount of his present contract's fifth-year option, ESPN reported.
"I just thought, you work hard on the field and do what you have to do on and off the field, and that's how you're supposed to get rewarded," Wilkerson told reporters about his contract status at a charity bowling event according to ESPN.
ESPN reported that he declined to reveal the reason why he has not showed up in the past two months.
Wilkerson also spoke about the Jets' latest addition in rookie defensive end Leonard Williams who was the sixth overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft from the University of Southern Carolina.
"He was the best available pick. I definitely look forward to working with him and playing with him in the trenches," Wilkerson said about Williams according to ESPN.
Wilkerson was aware of trade rumors and a possibility of being dealt away during draft night and said in a report by ESPN that he was not at all fazed.
"Not at all. If I was to get traded ... of course, I'm a New Jersey guy, I want to be here. But if that's the case, if I were to get traded, there's nothing I can do about it," he said.
In another report by ESPN, Jets defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson told ESPN's Josina Anderson that Wilkerson told him that he will be at the Jets' minicamp next week.
Wilkerson has been training with personal trainers in Atlanta and Maryland and is actively communicating with his teammates to learn plays and defensive schemes, ESPN also reported.
