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Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson got his 2015 season off to a good start with five tackles, a sack and a forced fumble against the Browns in a 31-10 Jets win.

Performances like that have made Wilkerson one of the top players in the league at his position, but they haven’t been enough to get the long-term contract he was seeking this offseason. Wilkerson’s camp and the team aren’t expected to continue discussing a deal during the season, which will push any future talks to an offseason that could see Wilkerson get the franchise tag,

Wilkerson says he believes he’s “one of the best defensive ends” in the NFL and that he’ll be focused on remaining in that group rather than on worrying about whether Jets brass will make him the offer he’s looking for.

“I’m a competitor, but I’m not going to compete with those people upstairs,” Wilkerson said to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. “If they feel I’m worthy or not worthy, whatever the case may be, that’s on them. I know what I’m capable of doing. … I’m not here to make a point about anything. If they think … I don’t know, I really can’t say how they feel about me. You have to talk to them. I just do my job and dominate as best I can.”

Continuing to put up performances like the one he had in the opener obviously won’t hurt Wilkerson’s chances of scoring a long-term deal, but, as we’ve seen countless times before, the presence of the franchise tag limits the urgency to get a deal done before the end of the final year of a player’s contract. Avoiding the tag and the protracted dance that can follow would be preferable, but it would be quite a surprise to see Wilkerson with anyone but the Jets when all is said and done.