Twos wild as most 2025 picks signed … With barely 6 weeks to go until NFL training camps open for the 2025 campaign, the large majority of players selected in this past April’s draft have come to terms. In fact, there are reports that fewer than 40 of the 250+ players drafted in April remain unsigned. And just two of those remaining unsigned draftees were first-round selections. One is two-way star Travis Hunter, the second player selected overall this year by Jacksonville. Hunter has been working mainly at WR for the Jags so far this off-season, but he’s also received snaps at CB. And that’s the rub in his negotiations. What the second player taken would normally get is baked into the CBA, but Hunter is lookig for some extra considerations should he in fact play both ways this season.
The other unsigned first-rounder is DE Shemar Stewart, who was selected by Cincinnati with this year’s 17th pick. And the Bengals are working overtime on this one to confirm their long-held reputation as the NFL’s cheapest team. While first-round contracts have traditionally been fully guaranteed, the Bengals want to include language in Stewart’s contract to allow the team to void future guarantees. Stewart did show up at last week’s OTA’s, but ultimately opted to leave without stepping on the field. While these things tend to get worked out sooner rather than later, there are concerns around the organization that this one could get a little uglier before it is ultimately resolved.
The truly odd situation this year though is the fact that to date only 2 second round picks have signed. That’s because the two that have signed – LB Carson Schwesinger and WR Jayden Higgins selected with the first two picks of the round by Cleveland and Houston respectively – WERE given fully guaranteed contracts for the first time and, needless to say, the other 30 players selected in the round, and their agents, want in on that action. Stay tuned!
