2012 Draftees Now Eligible For Extensions

Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, and the rest of the NFL players drafted in 2012 are now eligible for contract extensions, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote earlier this afternoon. Draftees with four-year rookie contracts become eligible for a second deal at the end of their third season in the league, as they prepare to enter the final year of their rookie pact.

While Luck, 2012’s first overall pick, and Wilson, a third-rounder, are among the most notable names now eligible to sign extensions with their current clubs, there aren’t a ton of big-name 2012 draftees that teams will have to lock up. Robert Griffin III, Trent Richardson, Matt Kalil, Justin Blackmon, and Morris Claiborne were selected with consecutive picks after Luck in that year, and all five players are coming off disappointing or lost 2014 seasons.

As Florio notes, there are still several players besides the top two quarterbacks worth keeping an eye on, including Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner, Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly, Bears wideout Alshon Jeffery, Patriots defensive end Chandler Jones, and Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David.

However, we may not see quite the flurry of extensions for star players that we did a year ago with 2011 draftees. Patrick Peterson, Tyron Smith, J.J. Watt, Robert Quinn, Richard Sherman, Colin Kaepernick, Andy Dalton, and Jason Kelce were among the noteworthy players from 2011’s draft class to ink new contracts since last February.