At least for now, Muhammad Wilkerson is under contract with the Jets entering next season

According to a report from the NFL Network’s Kim Jones, the team plans to place the franchise tag on the impending free-agent defensive end by 4 p.m. Tuesday, the deadline to do so. As a result, Wilkerson, 26, will play next season on a one-year contract (if no contract extension is agreed upon) worth the average of the top-five highest paid at his position.

That salary is $15.7 million.

Wilkerson and the Jets have been locked in a near two-year contract dispute, dating back to when GM Mike Maccagnan was originally hired. After stating it was a priority to retain the team’s first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the two sides, to this point, have not come to terms on a new contract.

“I think, with him and all of our players that we had on the team last year, we’re going to try to figure out a way to keep as many of them as we can,” Maccagnan said at his end-of-year press conference. “In a perfect world, we’d keep everyone on the roster. But we’ll see how this thing unfolds.”

Wilkerson has reportedly beensearching for a contract similar to that given to the Houston Texans J.J. Watt. The Jets simply weren’t willing to part with that kind of money.

After sitting out of the Jets voluntary workouts in order to make a point last summer, Wilkerson attended each mandatory workout leading up to the start of last season. Prior to the Jets season opener against the Cleveland Browns, contract talks were put on hold for the remainder of the season.

In 2015, Wilkerson did nothing but increase his wroth. The Temple product recorded 64 tackles, two forced fumbles and a career-high 12 sacks. He earned the first Pro Bowl honor of his career as a result.

In spit of the fact Wilkerson suffered a broken leg in the Jets season finale against the Buffalo Bills, he was still expected to be one of the more highly sought after free agents if allowed to hit the open market.

The possibility of the Jets trading Wilkerson does exist as well. The Jets traded John Abraham after tagging him in 2006. The Jets received the 29th overall pick (which they used to take Nick Mangold) in the 2007 NFL Draft from the Falcons, who signed Abraham to a $45 million contract.

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Connor Hughes is the New York Jets beat writer for the USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties. He can be reached on Twitter (@Connor_J_Hughes), or via email (chughes@usatoday.com)