The Panthers have become the 11th team in the NFL to lock up their entire 2014 draft class, announcing today (via Twitter) that first-round receiver Kelvin Benjamin and third-round guard Trai Turner have signed their rookie contracts. The club had previously locked up second-rounder Kony Ealy and its three other late-round draftees.
As the 28th overall pick in the draft, Benjamin is in line for a signing bonus worth $3.894MM, according to Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap. Benjamin, a former Florida State standout, will also have a fifth-year option on his deal which the team can exercise for the 2018 season. As for Turner, per Fitzgerald’s numbers, his signing bonus is a more modest $540K, with an overall four-year value of about $2.796MM on this deal.
As I noted this morning, coming into today, only 52 draft picks remained unsigned. With Benjamin and Turner now under contract, only 50 more still need to put pen to paper. You can follow the progress with our tracker.