Could unhappy draft picks return to school someday? … There has been a bit of a twist in the ongoing saga of DE Shemar Stewart, Cincinnati’s first round pick this past April – #17 overall – who remains the only unsigned opening round selection from this year’s draft as the team and player remain locked in a dispute over guaranteed money in his rookie contract. There was a report over the weekend that Stewart might opt to return to school if the impasse isn’t resolved. Turns out the report may have overstated the case as Stewart is working out at A&M this summer, but not with the team. What makes it a little more interesting though is not necessarily the report itself but the reaction. Aggies’ head coach Mike Elko simply stated, for example, that ‘no, Stewart wasn’t going to be playing with A&M this year’ as if that was even possible because in the history 0f the draft once a player confirmed entry into the draft he was done with college.
Recall also that after the draft there were some rumblings that Quinn Ewers, who passed on a reported $8M NIL offer to transfer from Texas this winter, might try and return to college after he fell all the way to the 7th round this past April. In the end, Ewers opted to stay with Miami, but the option is at least out there and one wonders if players getting the option to return to school if there is some hiccup or other in the draft process might be one of the next steps in the evolution of the NFL-college landscape. Stay tuned!
