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Christian Wilkins will be a hot name on the market unless the Dolphins can re-sign him before noon Monday

Christian Wilkins will be one of the most coveted free agents on the market when the legal negotiation period begins Monday at noon.

That is, of course, unless the Dolphins can pull off a repeat of 2022 when defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah was in the same spot before they re-signed him to a four-year deal less than an hour before the negotiation period was set to begin.

This certainly isn't meant to suggest this is going to happen with Wilkins, merely a reminder that the door isn't necessarily closed on a return.

As of Monday morning, the expectation remained that Wilkins would end up leaving after five seasons with the Dolphins and there are a couple of teams that have emerged as favorites to land him.

The Las Vegas Raiders are the betting favorites to sign Wilkins, with the idea to team him up with Maxx Crosby on the defensive line for first-year head coach Antonio Pierce.

The Houston Texans also have been mentioned as a possible strong suitor for Wilkins, but they very well might be more interested in San Francisco 49ers veteran Arik Armstead, who is expected to be released, with that representing a reunion with Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans.

Another team worth watching is the Minnesota Vikings, whose defensive coordinator is Wilkins' first NFL head coach, Brian Flores.

VAN GINKEL WILL HAVE MANY SUITORS

Another Dolphins free agent who should attract a lot of interest is linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, who Miami was able to bring back last offseason on a one-year, $2.6 million deal.

Like Wilkins, Van Ginkel spent the first five seasons of his NFL career in Miami and the feeling is he'd love to return if the money is right — and that amount is going to be a lot higher than $2.6 million annually.

Van Ginkel made visits to the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders as a UFA last year before re-upping with Miami, but the Philadelphia Eagles are the team to watch here because of their addition of Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator.

CAN DOLPHINS STAY IN THE HUNT?

Sorry for the bad pun, but this applies to guard Robert Hunt, whose price tag probably went up after the Los Angeles Rams' deal to re-sign his former college teammate Kevin Dotson.

The 49ers and Chicago Bears have been mentioned as logical suitors, but they won't be the only ones because Hunt is right near the top of the guard market.

The Dolphins would love to be able to retain Hunt, but the question will be how much they're willing to spend to make that happen.

STRONG CANDIDATES TO RETURN

The Dolphins already have re-signed four of their impending free agents — Jake Bailey, Nik Needham, Robert Jones and Elijah Campbell — and there will be more before the end of the offseason.

The most logical candidates to be re-signed would be former Dolphins draft picks or players they developed, and those players they re-signed in a previous offseason, assuming the money is right.

The first group would include defensive tackle Raekwon Davis, safety Brandon Jones, wide receiver River Cracraft and running back Salvon Ahmed. The second group consists of players like cornerback Justin Bethel and tackle Kendall Lamm.

We also should mention the Dolphins re-signed eight of their own free agents last year after the start of the legal negotiating periods, including all four of their running backs (Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr., Salvon Ahmed and Myles Gaskin). The others were linebacker Duke Riley, Cracraft, Lamm and Needham.

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