The Pittsburgh Steelers will report to Latrobe for the start of their 20189 training camp a week from Wednesday and currently they’ve still yet to sign their first-round draft pick, safety Terrell Edmunds. That, however, figures to change very soon and especially since the player selected immediately after Edmunds was signed his rookie contract on Tuesday.
According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Jacksonville Jaguars have now signed defensive tackle Taven Bryan, their first-round selection in the 2018 NFL Draft, to a four-year rookie contract. Bryan was selected 29th overall this year and immediately after the Steelers selected Edmunds.
Bryan now signing his rookie deal now figures to trigger the signing of Edmunds just as I speculated a few weeks ago. In short, Edmunds and his representation from CAA, who just so happen to represent quite a few of the remaining unsigned draft picks, were likely waiting to see what ultimately happened with Bryan’s contract as it relates to offset language and fourth-year guaranteed amounts. Former NFL agent Joel Corry explained the reasoning behind why Bryant’s offset language might be a significant thing to watch for right after the draft..
“It will be interesting to see whether Jacksonville signs 29th-overall pick Taven Bryan to a contract where his salary guarantees have offsets. The Jaguars haven’t required offsets for their last six first-round picks, which have all been in the top five of the draft,” Corry wrote for CBS Sports in May.
Corrys explanation from several months ago certainly makes sense as agents for the players drafted around Bryan were probably waiting to see what the offset language in his contract looked like in order to use it as a negotiating tool for their clients. In addition to Edmunds remaining unsigned as of Tuesday morning, cornerback Mike Hughes of the Minnesota Vikings and running back Sony Michel of the New England Patriots have both yet to sign their rookie contracts. Hughes was drafted 30th overall, immediately after Bryan, while Michel was drafted 31st overall.
I would speculate that now that Bryan has signed that Edmunds will ink his rookie contract by Monday at the latest and probably even by Friday evening. Regardless, I expect Edmunds to be signed by the time the Steelers report for training camp.
Edmunds is expected to sign a four-year contract that totals out at $10,697,790 and include a signing bonus of $5,860,212.
