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Jonah Savaiinaea

Dolphins Sign Second-Round OL Jonah Savaiinaea To Fully Guaranteed Rookie Deal

July 18th, 2025 at 4:29pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Dolphins have agreed to terms on a 100% fully guaranteed rookie contract with second-round offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

The deal makes Savaiinaea the first No. 37 pick and the fifth second-round pick to receive a fully guaranteed contract in league history. He received significant increases over the guarantees of 2024 No. 37 pick Ja’Lynn Polk, who had 30% of his Year 4 salary and 84.7% of his total deal guaranteed, per OverTheCap. Savaiinaea received 15.3% more guaranteed money overall with a massive 70% increase in Year 4 guaranteed salary.

Savaiinaea did not report with the rest of the Miami’s rookie class on July 15 as one of several second-round picks holding out for fully guarantee rookie contracts after the Texans set new precedent with No. 34 pick Jayden Higgins. No. 35 pick Nick Emmanwori signed a fully guaranteed deal with the Seahawks on Thursday, giving Savaiinaea leverage to demand similar terms. Savaiinaea is also projected to replace Liam Eichenberg as the Dolphins’ starting right guard after they traded up for him in April’s draft, so it was important to get him on the field to build chemistry with his new teammates.

By giving in to Savaiinaea’s demands, the Dolphins will continue the domino effect of second-round pick signings. No. 39 pick Luther Burden signed a fully guaranteed contract with the Bears shortly after Savaiinaea put pen to paper, which should lock No. 38 pick TreVeyon Henderson into a similar deal with the Patriots. Saints rookie quarterback and No. 40 pick Tyler Shough should also be able to secure the fully guaranteed deal that he has been pursuing.

Normally, Savaiinaea’s signing would also ensure that the pick before him gets a fully guaranteed deal. However, No. 36 pick Quinshon Judkins remains unsigned as he faces a charge of misdemeanor battery after a domestic incident in Florida. The Browns are in no rush to sign him to his rookie deal, per Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, as the team wants their second-round pick’s focus to remain on his legal issues.

Savaiinaea’s signing completes the Dolphins’ eight-man draft class before training camp kicks off next week.

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.

OL Notes: Conerly, Commanders, Dolphins, Patriots, Seahawks, Bears, Giants, Rams

May 6th, 2025 at 2:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

As OTAs near, teams will begin evaluations regarding roles for rookie offensive linemen — and potential veteran relocations stemming from draft decisions. A couple of changes figure to come out of the Commanders‘ Josh Conerly Jr. draft choice. The Browns and Texans attempted to trade up for Conerly, but the Commanders ended up with the two-year Oregon left tackle starter at No. 29. Washington GM Adam Peters said (via ESPN.com’s John Keim) Conerly could play tackle or guard as a rookie.

Washington, which let Cornelius Lucas walk in free agency (to Cleveland), had already planned to move primary 2024 LT Brandon Coleman to RT before the draft. Two-year RT starter Andrew Wylie accepted a pay cut this offseason, and his past as a guard could become relevant again. Wylie has only played RT over the past four seasons, but the ex-Chief worked almost exclusively at guard from 2018-20. Wylie and potentially Coleman could be in the guard mix if Conerly stays at tackle opposite new LT Laremy Tunsil. The Commanders have ex-Chief Nick Allegretti at LG and a rehabbing Sam Cosmi at RG; the latter’s spot obviously will not be in jeopardy once he recovers from his January ACL tear, but he will not be a lock to avoid the PUP list to open the season.

Here is the latest from O-lines around the league:

Dolphins Acquire No. 37 From Raiders

April 25th, 2025 at 6:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Dolphins are jumping up to No. 37, acquiring the pick from the Raiders. Miami will send Las Vegas Nos. 48, 98 and 135 for Nos. 37 and 143, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets.

Jonah Savaiinaea is heading to South Beach with the newly acquired pick. The Arizona O-lineman will help a Dolphins team that was linked to blockers in Round 1. Miami, however, went with Michigan DT Kenneth Grant. But it is circling back to an interior O-line need.

Losing Robert Hunt in free agency last year, the Dolphins are attacking their guard need this offseason by adding James Daniels (after his three-year Steelers stint) and now bringing in a second-round reinforcement. Savaiinaea profiles as a guard for the Dolphins, who had lost 2024 starter Robert Jones to the Cowboys in free agency. While Miami re-signed Liam Eichenberg, the former second-rounder profiles as more stopgap at this point. He is on a one-year deal.

A three-year Arizona starter, Savaiinaea only earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors last season — as the conference expanded significantly — and honorable mention All-Pac-12 acclaim in 2023. But he ranked highly during the pre-draft process. The powerful blocker checked in at 324 pounds and rated as the fourth-ranked guard in this class, per The Athletic’s Dane Brugler. Savaiinaea also saw extensive time at right tackle with the Wildcats, teaming with 2024 Packers first-rounder Jordan Morgan.

Miami has Austin Jackson signed for two more years at right tackle, and the former first-rounder has strung together two mostly healthy seasons. Savaiinaea, however, should have a clear path to start opposite Daniels at Miami’s other guard spot, as Aaron Brewer remains in place at center on a line that will feature 2024 second-rounder Patrick Paul stepping in for Terron Armstead at LT.

Draft Rumors: Tackles, Buffs, Sanders

November 30th, 2024 at 2:51pm CST by Ely Allen

Often in the NFL Draft, offensive tackles are slotted into some of the top picks of the draft, usually as contenders for a No. 1 overall draft pick. Recent years saw Joe Alt and JC Latham taken in the top 10 in 2024, Paris Johnson and Darnell Wright in 2023, and Ikem Ekwonu, Evan Neal, and Charles Cross in 2022 alone. This year, while there are surely some candidates to be first-round picks in this year’s class, an elite, top-10 tackle seems to be absent among them.

LSU’s Will Campbell is seemingly the only offensive lineman who has been granted a consensus opinion as a first-rounder, but many doubt that he will continue to play tackle in the NFL. Per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, a perceived lack of strength has scouts shifting him inside to guard at the next level. Kelvin Banks Jr. at Texas held first-round potential for much of the year, but up-and-down performances throughout the year, accompanied by a rough performance against Georgia at home, have put that promise in doubt. Lastly, Ohio State tackle Josh Simmons likely held the highest chance at being a top-drafted tackle, but a torn patellar tendon will limit his availability until summer and diminish his draft stock.

ESPN’s Jordan Reid agrees with Breer’s sentiment, claiming that the entire offensive line group lacks the depth and top-end talent of last year’s group by a wide margin. He notes that Campbell, Banks, and Arizona’s Jonah Savaiinaea could all slide inside to guard and adds that most players in the class are getting Day 2 or 3 grades.

Here are some other rumors coming from the 2025 NFL Draft class:

  • While the merit of early Heisman attestations is still to be determined, Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders likely couldn’t care less. With several NFL teams in attendance to watch a drubbing of the lowly Cowpokes at Oklahoma State, Hunter and Sanders likely had eyes on late-April. According to Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports, one NFL executive claimed that not only are Hunter and Sanders going to be drafted in the top five picks, but he also believes they will go back-to-back at Nos. 1 & 2 overall.
  • In support of that prediction, Breer noted that the Giants sent a bevy of executives — general manager Joe Schoen, assistant general manager Brandon Brown, director of player personnel Tim McDonnell, and special assistant Jessie Armstead — to Boulder for practices and the game this week to get looks at Sanders with quarterback Daniel Jones already gone. In our latest look at the most-updated draft order (if the season were to end today), the Giants slotted in at No. 2 overall, tied with the Jaguars and Raiders with a 2-9 record. Since then, the Giants and Raiders have both lost additional contests, moving them up to Nos. 1 & 2, respectively, but if the Jaguars also fall tomorrow, they would be reinstated at No. 1.