This week we got news that USC quarterback Caleb Williams, widely expected to be the No. 1 overall draft selection this April, will reportedly enter the NFL without representation, per Mike Florio of NBC Sports. This isn’t totally unheard of as we’ve seen quite a few NFL players of late accomplish new deals without an agent, but the situation is a little different for a potential top pick.
We’ve seen defenders like Richard Sherman, Bobby Wagner, and, more recently, Roquan Smith sign new contracts while representing themselves. More in the realm of Williams, we recently saw Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson go through both the draft process and his first major extension without an agent.
Jackson was selected 32nd overall, while Williams is expected to be picked much earlier in the night. That means the deal that Williams will negotiate for himself will be worth quite a bit more money than Jackson’s rookie deal was worth. Still, rookie contracts are fairly restricted in how they can be built, so there shouldn’t be a ton of wiggle room in which Williams may mess something up.
Where Florio thinks the lack of representation could hinder Williams is in the leadup to the draft. He suggests that the agents of other quarterbacks or draft prospects hoping to supplant Williams’ top draft positioning will “spend the next two months trying to get teams to take their clients instead of Williams,” a process that can get dirty with negative framing being used to lessen the appeal of Williams. With a lack of representation, Williams would lack an advocate to appeal against the negative things being used against him.
Here are a few other recent rumors concerning the 2024 NFL Draft:
- Scouts and draft pundits will be disappointed to learn that Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean will not be participating in the testing at next week’s NFL Scouting Combine, according to Dane Brugler of The Athletic. DeJean is reportedly still working his way back from a leg injury he sustained late in the season. Widely expected to be selected on Day 1 of the draft, he is considered one of the more athletic prospects in the class and likely would have drawn lots of eyes in Indianapolis. Instead, DeJean plans to work out for teams much closer to the draft at the end of April.
- Brugler reported that another likely first-round pick will not be working out at the Combine. Illinois defensive tackle Johnny Newton will sit out next week as he continues to recover from a January surgery that he underwent in order to repair a partial Jones fracture in his foot. He had been able to play through the injury through the second half of the 2023 season but, obviously, wished to repair the injury before heading to the league. Newton is expected to be cleared in time for an April pro day.
Will Sherman represent himself for his latest DUI?
link to sportsnaut.com
Not sure how or if it could be legally accomplished but I imagine both Goodell and the players union would like to find a way to prevent players from being in the league without an agent representing them.
Texans should be all over cooper dejean in the 1st if he’s there as a long term answer across stingley.
Williams marches to a different (Pac12) drumbeat.
Crying after losses. And now doing his own thing on the contract side.
The red flags are blinding.
Really hoping for a Bears trade down. They simply don’t have the organizational experience or culture to guide a guy like Caleb to an optimal outcome.
It’s just my 2 cents, but I think you’re making a whole lot of assumptions that may or may not be true. The kid’s father is a very smart guy who has managed his business interests well and stayed out of the coaching side. Poles, by all accounts, is also a very grounded, sensible decision maker. If this kid goes to Chicago, I think it’d be just as easy to believe it may be a great place for him to land and that Waldron might be one of the best OCs the kid could have.
If he represents himself the odds that he asks for ridiculous things and delays his signing into training camp triple. Which means as a QB he would be so far behind the 8 ball he’d have no chance to start in year one making it a wasted year on his contract anyway. I never really wanted this weirdo, But now I’m positive it would be a waste of the #1 pick. Trade it down.
Haha! Well, we’re not gonna agree on this one, Mike. It’s cool. I just don’t choose to assume all the worst about this situation or him. And I think he listens to his old man who I believe, will have an adult relationship with Poles and between the two, won’t let the worst happen. I also think there will be plenty of conversation between them long before the draft so everybody knows where everyone stands before that pick is made.
That’s not what’s going to happen. Top NBA players figured out a long time ago: Max contracts are fixed. There’s nothing to negotiate, so why let an agent take a cut? The same is essentially true for first round NFL deals.
Pretty confident of the first white CB since Jason Sehorn to say he won’t participate.
He should run injured? Wouldn’t that hurt his draft position even more?
Well that probably seals the deal that the Bears will trade the #1 pick. After the Roquan Smith disaster I highly doubt that Poles and Warren want to go there again.
Roquan Smith disaster? He was their best LB when he left for Baltimore. The Bears management tried to shaft the guy from day one because they didn’t want to honor the offset language in his contract. I don’t blame him for being resentful of that.
I think disaster pretty well sums it up. They traded a former #8 pick in the draft for a 2nd and a 5th. That’s a disaster to me. Plus he wanted to be the highest paid LB int he sport when he obviously wasn’t and never will be. Kinda sounds like somebody else the Bears have. Hmmmmmm
The trade of Roquan wasn’t a disaster at all. Poles turning around and trading their own 2nd for Claypool was. A 2nd and 5th for a 5th year LB was optimal. They paid less for Sweat a year later.