The NFL Draft concluded a little over two weeks ago, but 161 (63%) of the league’s 254 draft picks have already inked their rookie deals, according to PFR’s tracker. That leaves just 93 stragglers left in total.
Unsurprisingly, 18 of this year’s 32 first round draft picks are in limbo, and that’s largely in due to the usual hiccups. Often, first round picks and teams haggle over offset language in contracts. That issue was at the heart of Joey Bosa‘s prolonged negotiations with the Chargers in 2016, but it’s not always a big barrier for top picks. Kyler Murray, selected No. 1 overall by the Cardinals, agreed to a deal last week that includes favorable offset language for the Cardinals in the event that he is released before the conclusion of his four-year pact.
Negotiations for third round picks also tend to take longer due to a relative lack of structure in the bylaws for their deals. That explains why a whopping 29 of this year’s 38 third round choices are unsigned as of this writing.
Between the first and third rounds, there are 47 unsigned rookies, which accounts for more than half of this year’s unsigned players. The overall number of unsigned players should drop significantly from the current total (93) between now and the end of the month, but don’t be surprised if the first and third rounds are disproportionately represented over the next few weeks.
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