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2025 NFL Draft News & Rumors

Bears, Second-Round DL Shemar Turner Agree To Terms

July 17th, 2025 at 12:36pm CST by Adam La Rose

Alfred Collins became only the third second-round pick from this year’s draft to sign his rookie deal yesterday. Another defensive lineman taken in that round has now done the same.

 Shemar Turner and the Bears have agreed to terms, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. The Texas A&M product was selected 62nd overall. That slot has seen 52.9% and 52.6% of the four-year contract guaranteed over the past two years (h/t Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap).

Full details with respect to guarantees in this case are unknown at this point, but it certainly stands to reason Turner will not receive his entire pact fully locked in. Indeed, a 35% guarantee for the third year of the contract has been included in this agreement, Mike Klis of 9News reports. It will be interesting to see if that helps to serve as another benchmark for the other second-rounders who have yet to sign with training camps looming.

Turner spent four years with the Aggies, and he posted six sacks during his junior campaign. Expectations were high for a repeat of that production last year, but he only managed a pair of sacks and six tackles for loss (after recording 11 the previous season). Still, Turner was one of several highly-regarded interior defenders in the 2025 class, and it came as little surprise when he was selected in the second round.

The Bears added Grady Jarrett in free agency, and the longtime Falcon will handle starting duties with his new team. Chicago also has the likes of Gervon Dexter, Zacch Pickens and Andrew Billings in place along the defensive line. Turner will look to carve out a rotational role during his rookie season and develop into a notable contributor over time.

Chicago still has two more second-rounders to sign over the coming days: receiver Luther Burden (taken 39th overall) and offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo (56th). With Turner’s pact taken care of, the team will look to get the other two signed before Saturday’s rookie reporting date for training camp.

49ers Sign Second-Round DT Alfred Collins

July 16th, 2025 at 10:56pm CST by Ely Allen

It’s the 49ers to the rescue! After waiting in a holding pattern since May 9, we’ve finally seen a third second-round pick sign their rookie contract. Texas defensive tackle Alfred Collins is the player to break the standstill after signing his rookie contract with the 49ers, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.

San Francisco doubled down on improving its defensive line after selecting Mykel Williams in the first round the night before. Many expected the 49ers to address the interior of the line on Day 1, but Collins fell to them in the second round all the same. A fifth-year senior (thanks to an extra year of eligibility from the COVID-19 season), Collins made impacts early and often as a contributor on the Longhorns defense.

Despite only starting 12 games in his first four years, Collins found plenty of ways to make an impact with 12.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and six passes defensed over that time. He became a full-time starter for the first time in 2025 and made the most of his opportunity, setting career highs in tackles (55), tackles for loss (5.5), and passes defensed (7). He serves as more of a run stopper than a pass rusher, but he’s an elite tackler with impressive durability.

The losses of Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins were a big reason that many expected San Francisco to go for an interior defensive lineman early. Jordan Elliott returns as a starter to the line’s interior from last year, but the spot next to him is currently being manned by Kevin Givens, who started 11 games in 2022 but has only started two since. It didn’t take long for the Niners to express hopes that Collins would be able to step into a starting role next to Elliott soon.

Normally, this post would stop here, after focusing on the 49ers wrapping up their draft class signings and showing how Collins can affect the roster in 2025, but this signing has a bigger impact on the NFL outside of the Bay Area. Collins’ signing could create a domino effect of signings for the other 29 second-round picks who remained unsigned around the league.

After the Texans and Browns awarded Jayden Higgins and Carson Schwesinger, respectively, fully guaranteed contracts, Saints second-round pick Tyler Shough became the rookie to watch. As a quarterback, Shough sought the same guarantees as his fellow second-rounders. This left pick Nos. 35-39, between Higgins and Shough, sitting on their hands, waiting to see if Shough was granted those guarantees, ready to demand the same of their teams as players drafted higher than Shough.

The rest of the second round has been in a holding pattern, as well. In theory, T.J. Sanders, picked just after Shough, would be able to at least try to get the same from Buffalo, if not just under. That strategy would theoretically have continued pick after pick, with each player using the rookie ahead of them as the comparison to work off of. Collins, though, has broken the hold, receiving guarantees for $9MM of his $10.3MM deal, an 88-percent guarantee. Everyone ahead of him will likely continue to wait on Shough, but the rest of the second round can now start to use Collins’ deal as a launching point. This should result in several second-round deals being made in the days to come.

With that out of the way, here’s a final look at the 49ers’ fully signed rookie class:

Broncos Sign First-Round CB Jahdae Barron

July 15th, 2025 at 9:38pm CST by Ben Levine

While a long list of second-round picks remain unsigned, there were only two first-round selections who had yet to sign their rookie pacts. One of those unsigned first rounders is Shemar Stewart, whose standoff with the Bengals has been extensively covered. The other was Broncos defensive back Jahdae Barron, but the Texas product has reportedly put pen to paper.

Mike Klis of 9News in Denver reports that the Broncos and Barron have agreed to terms on the player’s four-year rookie contract. The cornerback will earn more than $18MM on his rookie deal, and he’ll also get a $9.8MM signing bonus. The Broncos are set to open their rookie minicamp tomorrow.

Barron had a standout career with the Longhorns, but he took his performance to another level in 2024. He finished the season with 67 tackles and a conference-leading five interceptions, leading to him earning a number of accolades. This included a consensus All-American nod and the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s top defensive back. That performance vaulted him up draft boards, and he was ultimately selected by the Broncos with the 20th-overall pick.

Following his selection, head coach Sean Payton said the rookie was “too unique to pass up,” and the Broncos fully intend to capitalize on the player’s versatility. Barron served in a variety of roles during his time at Texas. He primarily played nickel during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, but he played more on the outside in 2024. He even garnered at least 140 snaps in the box in each of his final three seasons at the school.

With Patrick Surtain and Riley Moss slotted in on the outside in Denver, the rookie is expected to mostly play in the slot as a rookie. The Broncos are still rostering their 2024 slot CB in Ja’Quan McMillian, so the team could also use Barron as a Swiss Army Knife-type player in their secondary.

As mentioned, Stewart now has the distinction of being the only unsigned first-round pick from this year’s draft. Also as mentioned, there are still a number of second-round picks who haven’t signed their rookie contracts, including Broncos second-round running back RJ Harvey.

33 Unsigned 2025 Draft Picks Remain

July 9th, 2025 at 9:19pm CST by Ely Allen

The NFL has hit a logjam and is collectively lagging far behind where it normally is at this point in the offseason. Two years ago, the league hit its last 30 unsigned players before July. Last year, teams were signing rookies as quickly as they were drafting them, and only 10 players remained unsigned by June 17. A couple intriguing situations have caused pens to go quiet in 2025, and as a result, here are the 33 remaining unsigned rookies of the 2025 NFL Draft:

Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 4:

  • No. 107 (Jaguars): Jack Kiser (LB, Notre Dame)

In recent years, a trend has seen second-rounders lasting the longest, but what we’re seeing this year is unheard of. As rookies have been getting a bit of flexibility in negotiating structures of guarantees, getting deals done has become a waiting game of seeing what surrounding picks are getting for comparison. Last year, teams breezed through the issue, but 2025 has seen significantly increased troubles.

Texans wide receiver Jayden Higgins set the tone by signing a fully guaranteed rookie contract, the first ever for a second-round selection. The next day, the Browns were essentially forced to do the same for Carson Schwesinger, picked one slot before Higgins. Shough, the Saints rookie quarterback, is seeking the same deal, hoping that his elevated status as a passer will help convince New Orleans to continue making history. Shough’s efforts have caused every pick between him and Higgins to stand pat, waiting to see if they get to ask for full guarantees from their teams, as well. This would be a drastic development, as last year’s 40th overall pick, Cooper DeJean, received only two fully guaranteed years with only partial guarantees in Year 3.

The biggest story outside of the second round is that of the standoff between Stewart and the Bengals. Stewart has issues with what he perceives as a lack of protection in Cincinnati’s offer that causes a contract default in any year to void any guarantees in all the following years. It’s a new precedent the team is trying to set, and Stewart seems intent on preventing them from doing so.

It will be interesting to see which standoff gets settled first: Stewart’s or Shough’s. The latter standoff ending would likely set off a domino reaction of second-round deals that would help a large number of teams close out their rookie classes. To this point, only four NFL teams have done so.

Patriots Kept K Andy Borregales From Falling To Ravens

June 29th, 2025 at 6:29pm CST by Ely Allen

Make no mistake, the Patriots were in dire need of a kicker, and to address this, they took Miami kicker Andy Borregales with the 182nd pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. New England was strategic about where they selected Borregales, though, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

Drafting kickers is a notoriously risky proposition. To illustrate, from 2010-16, only 11 kickers were selected through the NFL draft. Of those 11 drafted kickers, only three — Greg Zuerlein, Randy Bullock, and Dustin Hopkins — are still in the NFL today. In the meantime, several undrafted kickers have made impressive careers for themselves. Justin Tucker is the prime example, as he ended his time in Baltimore with him holding the highest field goal conversion percentage in NFL history. Players like Brandon Aubrey, Chris Boswell, Cameron Dicker, and Younghoe Koo have all followed in Tucker’s footsteps as undrafted standouts in recent years.

For this reason, teams tend to wait as long as possible before drafting a kicker. Not doing so has historically bit the teams who spent significant draft capital on the position. Former second-round kicker Roberto Aguayo only lasted one season in Tampa Bay and never kicked in the league after getting waived by the team that drafted him. More recently, Jake Moody was drafted by the 49ers in the third round. After struggling through an injury-riddled sophomore campaign last year, San Francisco brought in a veteran to compete with him this summer.

The Patriots knew they were going to add a kicker at some point in the offseason, but in the sixth round of the draft, one certain factor led them to pull the trigger on Borregales. Per Reiss, the Patriots brass knew that Baltimore was going to be looking to draft a kicker at some point to address Tucker’s troubling legal situation. Four picks in front of the Ravens, they tabbed Borregales. Baltimore ended up with Arizona’s Tyler Loop instead, who has reportedly been struggling so far in offseason activities.

Regardless, Borregales stands to be a key player in New England’s rookie class. Borregales never converted less that 80 percent of his kicks in four years with the Hurricanes, and he ended his time in Coral Gables with his strongest season. In a high-scoring offense led by No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward, Borregales did his part converting all 62 extra point attempts and 18 of 19 field goals attempts, including a 56-yarder.

For a team that, for so long, relied on the legs of consistent stars like Adam Vinatieri and Stephen Gostkowski, Borregales represents a hope that the team will return to that norm of consistency. In the years following their decision to move on from Gostkowski, Reiss points out that the Patriots rank 22nd in field goal success rate and 27th in extra point success rate. The Patriots made a move they hope will get them back on the right track, and they did it by taking the first kicker in the draft, just out of reach of the kicker-hungry Ravens.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 6/24/25

June 24th, 2025 at 7:40pm CST by Ben Levine

One draft pick signing from today:

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars got one step closer to completing their draft pick signings today, as the team finally inked fourth-round RB Bhayshul Tuten to his rookie deal. After spending two seasons at North Carolina A&T, Tuten spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons with the Hokies, collecting 2,342 yards from scrimmage and 29 touchdowns in 24 games. The rookie doesn’t have an instant path to playing time behind Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby, but he should be solidly in the team’s future plans at the RB position.

With today’s signing, fourth-round linebacker Jack Kiser is Jacksonville’s only unsigned draft pick.

Jaguars Sign WR/CB Travis Hunter

June 22nd, 2025 at 9:15pm CST by Adam La Rose

Earlier this month, Travis Hunter and the Jaguars were not close to an agreement regarding his rookie contract. Team and player have now finalized the deal, however.

The 2024 Heisman winner signed his four-year pact on Sunday, per a team announcement. Hunter will collect $46.65MM as this year’s second overall selection, and that figure includes a $30.57MM signing bonus. ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes Hunter has received his entire signing bonus up front (as opposed to in installments as usual). There is limited precedent for such a move (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk), but it nevertheless marks a departure from standard practice.

Many presumed Hunter would hear his name called just after Cam Ward, and that did indeed wind up happening. The fact the Jaguars – not the Browns – selected him came as a surprise, though. Cleveland and Jacksonville pulled off a swap negotiated well in advance which allowed the Jags to move up to No. 2 and draft the two-way Colorado product.

Once of the most intriguing storylines leading up to this year’s draft was the matter of how Hunter would be used in the NFL. The Jaguars opened the offseason by having him acclimate to the receiver spot, but by the onset of OTAs he was also taking reps as a cornerback. It is expected that will continue through training camp as the team evaluates how to manage his workload as a rookie. That could very well shift on a week-to-week basis, especially depending on how Jacksonville’s WR and CB depth charts shake out over the coming months.

First-year general manager James Gladstone has made no secret about how highly he thinks of Hunter since the opening night of the draft. The All-American was an impact player on both sides of the ball in college, averaging well over 100 total snaps per game last season. He will take on the challenge of replicating that workload over the course of his rookie deal (which could run through 2029 in the event his fifth-year option is picked up).

The Jags have two remaining unsigned members of their draft class given today’s news. Needless to say, though, the team’s most lucrative pact on that front has now been taken care of.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 6/20/25

June 20th, 2025 at 5:52pm CST by Adam La Rose

Friday’s lone draft pick signing:

New England Patriots

With Woodson now on the books, running back TreVeyon Henderson is the only member of New England’s draft class which has not yet signed. A deal for the latter may not be coming any time soon, of course, given the precedent set earlier this spring for second-round picks receiving fully guaranteed deals and the logjam which now exists for players picked during that round.

Saints’ Tyler Shough Wants Fully Guaranteed Deal, Delaying Second-Round Signings

June 19th, 2025 at 10:01pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Several second-round picks from the 2025 NFL Draft remain unsigned as they seek fully guaranteed rookie contracts, according to Joel Corry of CBS Sports.

Back in May, the Texans gave No. 34 pick Jayden Higgins a fully guaranteed deal, the first of its kind for a second-round pick. In past years, the first few picks of the second round have received three years of fully-guaranteed money with increasing fourth-year guarantees after each draft. The Texans’ move put pressure on the Browns to do the same with No. 33 pick Carson Schwesinger, which they did the next day.

With this new precedent, Saints second-round quarterback Tyler Shough is demanding a fully-guaranteed rookie contract of his own, per Corry. That would be a sizable jump from 2024 No. 40 pick Cooper DeJean, who only received partial guarantees in his third year and none in his fourth, per OverTheCap. Shough was taken with pick No. 40, six spots after Higgins, but the recent retirement of Derek Carr has positioned him as the Saints’ starting quarterback, giving him some extra leverage in negotiations.

Knowing that, the players drafted between Higgins and Shough are waiting to sign with their teams. If Shough can get a fully guaranteed contract from the Saints, every player selected before him will have an argument to receive the same deal. However, their teams will argue that Shough’s situation – and quarterbacks in general – are unique when it comes to contract negotiations.

Players selected in the early 40s will also be “hoping to benefit from a trickle-down effect” from Shough’s negotiations, according to Corry. If he extracts a fully guaranteed deal, the next few picks will push for their first three years to be fully guaranteed and potentially ask for guarantees in the fourth year as well.

Giants Sign RB Cam Skattebo, Complete Rookie Class

June 18th, 2025 at 10:04pm CST by Ely Allen

As the Giants wrapped up their minicamp today, they finished business on another front, as well. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo posted early in the afternoon that New York and fourth-round rookie running back Cam Skattebo had agreed to terms on his first NFL contract. The team confirmed this a few hours later, when Skattebo officially put pen to paper and wrapped up the Giants’ rookie signings.

Coming out of Rio Linda, just outside of Sacramento, Skattebo was an unranked recruit in high school. Determined to continue playing football, he committed to the only Division I program to offer him a scholarship: nearby Sacramento State. After COVID-19 cancelled his first season, Skattebo played a complimentary role for the Hornets before exploding the next year as the starter with 1,382 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, not to mention a passing and onside kick return touchdown, as well.

Having been named an FCS first-team All-American as a sophomore, Skattebo hit the transfer portal and landed at Arizona State. On a team that went 3-9, his first campaign with the Sun Devils was a bit of a struggle, but once again, he would explode in Year 2. While it was always going to be damn near impossible to keep pace with Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, Skattebo was part of an elite group of four other backs who all averaged more than 130 rushing yards per game, and of those four, he was the only one to reach the end zone over 20 times. Finishing second in the nation in rushing yards (1,711) and sixth in rushing touchdowns (21), Skattebo led the Sun Devils to a Big 12 Championship and, consequently, a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Despite these statistical achievements and a fifth-place finish in the Heisman race, Skattebo was considered a fringe-Day 2 pick. Essentially, scouts seemed to recognize his tenacity, effort, and feel for the game but noted that he lacked any elite traits and feared that he may be exposed for that in the NFL. Still, Skattebo brings added value to New York thanks to the receiving production that helped make him such a versatile prospect.

Coming to New York, Skattebo joins a team that finished 23rd in rushing in 2024 after losing Saquon Barkley to their division-rival. He currently projects as RB3 behind last year’s top rushers, Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Devin Singletary. Tracy, last year’s fifth-round pick, is a converted wide receiver who has never rushed for 1,000 yards in college or his rookie campaign, but his 839 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns led Big Blue in 2024. Singletary began last year as the starter before getting demoted to RB2 following a Week 4 groin injury. Skattebo will work to compete with Singletary for opportunities behind Tracy, but he comes into his rookie season with much more acclaim than Tracy did.

Here’s a final look at the Giants’ 2025 rookie class, now complete:

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