With training camps opening, more draft picks than usual remain unsigned. The official number stands at 32.
Thirty of them come from round two, thanks to the fact that the first two players taken in the round received fully-guaranteed deals. The third through 32nd players remain unsigned. There’s a way for them to band together and pressure the teams, if the NFL Players Association is able to herd the agent-cats. (Or to even try.)
The other two unsigned players were taken in the first round. One is Bengals edge rusher Shemar Stewart. He’s the 17th pick. His impasse with the team has been well documented; they’re haggling over the impact of a default on future guarantees.
The other unsigned draft pick is Broncos cornerback Jahdae Barron, the 20th overall pick. The delay in his contract possibly relates to the spike in training-camp roster bonuses in that range of round one. The player taken in front of Barron (Bucs receiver Emeka Egbuka) had his training-camp roster bonus percentage for years two, three, and four jump from 70 percent to 96.2 percent. The player taken behind Barron (Steelers defensive tackle Derrick Harmon) had his training-camp roster bonus percentage for the same three years increase from 52.34 percent to 84.93 percent.
Barron’s slot in 2024 was at 61.93 percent.
Regardless of the specific reason(s) for Barron not being signed, he’s one of two non-second-round picks to not sign. In another other year, it would only be Stewart and Barron without contracts.
This year, thanks to the right over round-two guarantees, 13 percent of all draft picks remain without contracts as training camps prepare to open.
And while these players fairly can be called “holdouts” (they’re “holding out” for better deals), no financial penalties apply to their absences. They can’t be fined. Their signing bonuses can’t be attacked. They are not employed by their teams, because they have not yet agreed to terms.
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