To have a better idea of what the Jets will do, I think the thing to do is look at what Seattle did during Idzik's time as their cap manager and contract negotiator. Looking at what he did in the past can help us understand what he's probably going to do now. Personally, I fall into the camp that says we should sign him to a long-term deal this offseason. He really wants to stay on the Jets and be a leader of the defense, play for Rex, etc, and I'm sure he would sign a reasonable long-term deal. Also, like some have said, if we wait until next year then his price tag will go up. The long-term deal can be structured so that there are lots of guarantees in the first 2 - 3 years, and some escalators/incentives in the last 2-3 years. Wilkerson hasn't done anything that you wouldn't want him to do- he's been a model Jet, and he wants to stay here long-term on a fair deal. And, he's earned that. We don't have to break the bank to do it, and getting him now will enable us to have him for his prime years. The 5th year option, in my opinion, is for a different kind of situation. It's when you drafted a great player who wants to be a free agent ASAP so that he can get on a better team to win more, and/or get more money than his current team is willing to pay him. You don't use the franchise tag on players that you want to keep long term. You only use it in situations where the player wants to leave but you want 1 more year out of him to hopefully push you over the edge and make a deep playoff run - or when he wants a long-term deal and you don't think he deserves it / think you can replace him relatively easily for a lot less money than it'd take to give him a long term deal. (The latter is what happened with Wes Welker at the Patriots.) I don't see those things applying, so it's best to extend him sooner rather than later.
As good as Wilkerson is, DE is a position with plenty of depth. If we were to lose Wilkerson we have Coples and Ellis as possible replacements. I am not saying that we should not pay him what it takes to keep him but we should keep things in perspective.
