Only Seven Unsigned NFL Draft Picks Remain
The overwhelming majority of this year’s NFL draft picks have signed their rookies deals. As training camp gets started, only the following seven players are without contracts:
- Browns, 1-1: Baker Mayfield, QB (Oklahoma)
- Jets, 1-3: Sam Darnold, QB (USC)
- Browns, 1-4: Denzel Ward, CB (Ohio State)
- Bills, 1-7: Josh Allen, QB (Wyoming)
- Bears, 1-8: Roquan Smith, LB (Georgia)
- Steelers, 1-28: Terrell Edmunds, S (Virginia Tech)
- 49ers, 2-44: Dante Pettis, WR (Washington)
For Mayfield, Darnold, Ward, Allen, and Smith, the holdup is reportedly tied to offset language. Players with offset language who are cut before the end of their rookie contract have the remaining guaranteed money reduced by whatever they earns elsewhere. Without offset language, players get to double dip. Top 10 picks expect to complete their rookie contracts, but it’s an important issue for agents nonetheless. There’s no sign of real acrimony between any of the Top 10 picks and their respective teams, though Smith has been staying away from the Bears.
In Edmunds’ case, it’s likely that his agent is haggling over guarantees in the fourth year of his rookie contract. First-rounders selected near the end of the first round often don’t get the entirety of their fourth season base salary guaranteed, but that’s an area where agents can press for a bit extra in talks. Seahawks rookie running back Rashaad Penny took less in fourth-year guarantees than last year’s No. 27 overall pick, talks dragged for several other players near the back end of the round. Others, such as Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley and Jaguars defensive tackle Taven Bryan have signed, but the Virginia Tech product is still in limbo.
Pettis is believed to be in line for a significant role this season, so it would behoove the Niners to get a deal done sooner rather than later.
Packers, Aaron Rodgers Far Apart On Contract
It doesn’t sound like a new deal between Packers and Aaron Rodgers is imminent. No meaningful progress has been made recently on a contract extension and nothing will happen right away, barring a dramatic change, a source tells Mike Florio of PFT. 
[RELATED: Aaron Rodgers Wants To Play Until He’s 40]
Rodgers is averaging about $22MM/year on his current deal and will average $19.9MM in the final two years of the pact. Those numbers are well below market for a quarterback of his caliber, but Rodgers also isn’t publicly making a big fuss over his next deal. Behind the scenes, it’s likely that Rodgers has pushed for a unique deal to highlight his unique talent level.
“It’s only been on my mind because … people have been writing and talking about it a lot,” Rodgers said recently when asked about the possibility of a non-traditional contract extension. “There have been many conversations about it. I think that there’s some merit to looking into where you do a non-traditional contractual agreement. If anybody at this point is gonna be able to do something like that, I think there needs to be a conversation about it. I never said anything about [tying the contract to] the cap. I just think there’s ways to do contracts where you can still be competitive so the team is happy about it, but have some more freedom.”
The Packers, meanwhile, have lots of leverage here. After paying him $39.8MM over the next two seasons, the Packers can franchise tag him in 2021. After that, they can franchise tag him once again for 2022, if they’re willing to give him a 20% pay bump over the ’21 tender. Assuming a rate of $27MM in ’21, that comes out an average of less than $25MM/year for the next four seasons. It’s not clear what the Packers would want in return for surrendering that option, especially since it would keep Rodgers in place through his age-38 season.
NFL Suspends Jaguars’ Dante Fowler
The NFL has suspended Jaguars pass rusher Dante Fowler for the first game of the 2018 regular season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. This ban stems from an arrest that happened back in 2017. 
This is a big year for Fowler, as he is ticketed for free agency after the year. The Florida product managed eight sacks last year, but the Jaguars were wary of committing to him after he missed all of his would-be rookie season and was a bit uneven in 2016. The fifth-year option is guaranteed for injury only, but that’s more than a formality when it comes to a player with an ACL tear on his medical records.
Roughly one year ago today, Fowler was arrested in St. Petersburg, Florida for simple battery and mischief. Cops claimed that Fowler got out of his car and got into a verbal exchange with a man who commented on his driving. When they came face to face, the defensive end allegedly hit the man, knocked off his glasses, and stepped on them. He then proceeded to take the victim’s grocery bag and throw it in a nearby lake. It was not his first run-in with the law.
Fowler will miss the Jags’ season opener against the Giants in New Jersey. He’ll be eligible to return for the team’s home opener in Week 2 against the Patriots on Sept. 16. Per league rules, Fowler will be permitted to participate in practices and preseason games in the interim.
Andrew Luck “Good To Go” For Camp
Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is “good to go” for training camp, Colts GM Chris Ballard tells reporters (Twitter link via Stephen Holder of the Indy Star). That means Luck won’t have to begin next week on the PUP list, which is a very positive sign for his progress. 
[RELATED: Looking Back On Luck’s Massive Contract Extension]
Luck will still take some days off, but there won’t be any limitations while he’s on the field. Before Ballard’s announcement today, no one was quite sure of Luck’s status for camp.
The QB missed all of 2017 with a shoulder issue and was finally able to throw a regulation-sized football in June. The Colts have been extremely cautious with Luck this offseason as the quarterback admitted that he attempted a 2017 return too quickly. Last season, the Colts were insistent that Luck would eventually return to the field, but they had to throw in the towel in November by placing him on IR.
Luck’s shoulder was largely a non-issue in 2016 as he threw for 4,240 yards and 31 touchdowns with a career-high 63.5 completion percentage. After months of surgeries, procedures, and grueling rehab, the Colts are hoping that Luck will be able to reprise that performance in 2018.
When healthy, Luck is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. The Stanford product posted more than 70 combined touchdowns in 2014 and 2016, and the 28-year-old (29 in September) is a three-time Pro Bowler.
AFC Notes: Bills, Allen, Texans, Watson
The Bills began discussing the idea of taking a quarterback near the top of the 2018 draft all the way back in May 2017 when general manager Brandon Beane was hired, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
“It’s a quarterback league; you’ve either got one or you don’t,” Beane said. “And we were getting to know Tyrod and Tyrod brought a lot of good things for us, but we decided as the season moved on that we were probably going to go in a different direction, and at the same time we were still thinking, ‘OK, if Tyrod is our guy we’ll draft other things, and if not, we’ll be ready to move forward.’ And that planning really started in August with some of the moves we made, and to add the draft capital that we did.”
When it came time for the draft, the Bills managed to move up for Allen by sending their No. 12 pick and two second-round picks to the Bucs for the No. 7 choice. After that, the Bills doubted that they would be able to land Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, who was another one of their top targets. Luckily for them, the Raiders opted to bolster their offensive line with the No. 15 pick, giving them an opportunity to trade up for Baltimore’s pick at No. 16.
“We had tried to trade with Oakland … and they were like, ‘No, we’re taking the pick,‘” Beane said. “So I called [Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome] and we agreed to the terms while Oakland was still on the clock and he said, ‘Let me know if your guy is still there.’ So until I heard them say it was Kolton Miller you had to assume that they were taking Tremaine. And if they had we would have stayed pat at 22.”
The Bills are happy with how things turned out in the first round, but it may take a while before we see how this draft class pans out, particularly when it comes to Allen.
Here’s more from the AFC:
- Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson tells NFL Network that he expects to be “full-go” for the first day of training camp (Twitter link via Adam Wexler of KPRC). Watson was able to practice without a knee brace during the team’s minicamp last month, so it was expected that he would be ready to roll for camp this month. Watson threw for 19 touchdown passes in his injury-shortened seven-game season and expectations are high heading into Year Two.
- Colts GM Chris Ballard says the team will have Chris McCain in training camp as his legal process plays out. “We’re getting two extreme versions of the truth,” Ballard said (Twitter link via Stephen Holder of the Indy Star). McCain has been charged with battery in California, but maintains his innocence.
- Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman will not sue the NFL over his four-game suspension.
AFC North Notes: Steelers, Rudolph, Rogers
The Steelers‘ backup quarterback competition is one to watch this summer, Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. Landry Jones has been a functional backup for the Steelers, but hasn’t been called upon in the last two years as Roethlisberger has been largely healthy. This year, rookie Mason Rudolph could supplant Jones as the No. 2 QB, leaving him one ill-fated play away from commanding the Steelers’ offense.
If Rudolph is as good as advertised, one can’t help but wonder if the Steelers could opt to carry two QBs instead of three, leaving Jones without a job. There has been no indication that Jones, who is entering his sixth NFL season, is on the bubble, but it may be something to keep in mind during training camp.
Here’s more from the AFC North:
- Free agent wide receiver Eli Rogers says he’ll “choose” where he’ll be play within the next few days (Twitter link). Rogers has been waiting in limbo after undergoing knee surgery this offseason. Rogers was a surprise standout for the Steelers in 2016 as he caught 48 passes for 504 yards and three touchdowns and continued his strong play in the postseason. He couldn’t replicate those numbers last year, but the Steelers are still said to be interested in re-signing him.
- The Ravens announced that tight end Vince Mayle is off the PUP list. Mayle was previously dealing with a high ankle sprain, but he passed his physical and is now eligible to practice. Mayle will have to compete for his job as the team has two locks at TE in first-round pick Hayden Hurst and third-round pick Mark Andrews. Mayle, Nick Boyle, Maxx Williams are competing for no more than two jobs, and it’s possible that only one other TE will make the cut behind the team’s rookies.
- Former Bengals first-round pick Cedric Ogbuehi is feeling good about his move to right tackle.
- Will Browns rookie Baker Mayfield start the most games of any first-round QB this year? Or will it be Ravens QB Lamar Jackson? Or one of the other three signal callers? Click here to cast your vote.
Release Candidate: Mike Gillislee
When the Patriots signed running back Mike Gillislee last year, it was a case of the rich getting richer. Gillislee, a restricted free agent, averaged 5.7 yards per carry for the Bills in 2016 and his future seemed extremely bright in the Patriots’ backfield. One year later, the Patriots find themselves with an embarrassment of riches in the backfield, and that could leave Gillislee without a spot on the roster. 
[RELATED: Patriots’ Julian Edelman Won’t Sue NFL]
Despite rushing for three touchdowns in the Pats’ season opener against the Chiefs, Gillislee was left off of the active roster for much of the season. Although he had some decent performances in a limited role and averaged a respectable 4.2 yards per carry in October, Gillislee was way behind Dion Lewis in the pecking order and also snaps to Rex Burkhead and James White. When it came time for the playoffs, the Patriots did not ask Gillislee to suit up.
Lewis is out of the picture after signing a lucrative free agent deal with the Titans, but the competition is still fierce in New England. The Patriots used a first-round pick to select Sony Michel, who projects to be the team’s leading rusher. White, Burkhead, and Branden Bolden are still in the fold, and the latest word is that former Bengal Jeremy Hill may have a better chance of making the final cut than Gillislee.
Patriots fans were rightfully ecstatic about plucking Gillislee from the rival Bills last year, but he’s no longer a focal point of the team’s plans. Gillislee’s two-year, $6.4MM deal has no guaranteed money remaining, so the team can save $2.18MM by cutting the Florida product with no dead money left on the cap. If Gillislee can’t step it up in camp, that’ll be the likely outcome for the 27-year-old.
NFC South Notes: Bucs, Winston, Saints
Earlier this month, Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston dumped his agents. Apparently, he won’t have a hard time finding new representation. Winston is expected to get pitches from CAA, Athletes First (David Dunn), Joel Segal and other agents hoping to work with him, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
Winston reportedly fired Greg Genske and Kenny Felder because the bulk of their experience is in baseball. With one year to go on his rookie deal plus a 2019 fifth-year option worth $20.9MM (guaranteed for injury only), Winston reportedly wants to go with a tried and true football agency to help negotiate his next deal. Still, the timing of his switch was suspicious as it came just moments after Winston’s reps negotiated a settlement in which he will miss the first three games of the 2018 season for his alleged sexual misconduct with an Uber driver.
Many are wondering whether Winston will have a long-term future with the Buccaneers, but the league’s top agents clearly still believe in his prospects going forward.
Here’s more from the NFC South:
- The Saints gave up their 2019 first-round pick to go from No. 27 to No. 14 this year, where they picked defensive end Marcus Davenport. It was a big gamble, but coach Sean Payton tells Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com that the opportunity to add Davenport was too good to pass up. “It’s something we felt that could help our team right now,” Payton said of the trade. “And obviously there is downside and you give up some compensation and you give up some flexibility next year. But we are worried about this year, too, and our focus is on winning this year, and that was the cost to move from where we were in the first round to getting really into a different part of that round.”
- This week, the Falcons informed Julio Jones that they will not be giving him a new deal this year.
- Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis sounds like he wants to play beyond 2018.
Patriots’ Julian Edelman Won’t Sue NFL
Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman won’t follow the Tom Brady playbook when it comes to his disagreement with the league. Edelman won’t take the NFL to federal court after an arbitrator recently upheld his PED suspension, a source tells Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Instead, Edelman will focus his energy on football and prepare for his season, which will not start until Week 5. 
Edelman was suspended in early June following a violation of the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy, and his appeal was heard in early July. There was at least some mystery regarding Edelman’s failed test, but his argument centered around the fact that the NFL mishandled the documentation and delivery of his sample.
Edelman will miss games against the Texans, Jaguars, Lions, and Dolphins before returning in Week 5 to face the Colts. The Patriots have Kenny Britt, Jordan Matthews, Chris Hogan, Cordarrelle Patterson, Matt Slater, and Braxton Berrios to lean on (and star tight end Rob Gronkowski), but Brady will still miss his projected No. 1 target at wide receiver.
Over his past four healthy seasons, Edelman has averaged 89 catches, 956 yards, and five touchdowns per campaign. But, unfortunately, Edelman hasn’t been on the field for more than a year, as a torn ACL ended his 2017 campaign before it began. Now that he has decided against legal action, we know that it will take him an extra month before he can return to the field.
NFC East Notes: Owens, Redskins, Giants
Former Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens says he isn’t “actively seeking to get into the NFL” but would entertain the possibility, “as well as the CFL,” if an opportunity arises (via ESPN.com).
“I know that I do have the ability to play. I know everybody sees the shape that I’m in. There’s a lot of athletes that play their prospective sports, but there are few guys that defy the odds. I think I’m one of those guys,” Owens said Wednesday.
Owens’ CFL rights are owned by the Edmonton Eskimos and he recently triggered a clause that gives them until Tuesday to work out a deal. The 44-year-old, who is on the verge of being inducted into the Hall of Fame while he celebrates elsewhere, will become a CFL free agent if he does not receive an offer to his liking.
It’s fair to wonder whether Owens can compete in the CFL at his age, and the NFL appears to be a longshot since he is seven years removed from playing and has not drawn any recent interest. Still, when T.O. talks comeback, we can’t help but listen.
Here’s a look at the NFC East:
- By failing to participate in 90% of the team’s OTAs, Redskins offensive tackle Trent Williams‘ 2018 base salary has now officially de-escalated from $10MM to $9.85MM, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Cornerback Josh Norman is in a similar boat. His salary has dipped from $13.5MM to $13.3MM.
- Giants third-round supplemental draft cornerback Sam Beal‘s deal is worth $4,082MM over four years and includes a $1.048MM signing bonus, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
- Meanwhile, Redskins cornerback Adonis Alexander, taken in the sixth-round of the supplemental draft, is set to earn $2.616MM over the course of his four-year deal.