The NFL officially has its first training camp holdout of 2025 and there could be quite a few more coming over the next few days. Tre Harris of the Los Angeles Chargers became the first player to hold out this year when he didn’t report with the rest of the Chargers’ rookies on Saturday.
The former Ole Miss receiver hasn’t signed his rookie contract yet, so he didn’t show up for camp. Harris was taken in the second round, which has suddenly become a nightmare round for most NFL teams this year. Of the 32 players selected in that round, only TWO of them have signed. That means there are still 30 players who haven’t signed.
To put that number in perspective, there are only 33 players from the ENTIRE draft who are still unsigned and 30 of them are from the same round. That also means there are 33 players who could potentially join Harris and hold out during training camp.
Let’s take a round-by-round look at the unsigned players and whether each player might be able to get a deal done before their team starts training camp. The Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals are the only two teams that still have yet to sign their top two draft picks, so fittingly, we’re going to start with them.
UNSIGNED FIRST ROUND PICKS (2)
17th overall pick: Shemar Stewart (Bengals)
Bengals rookie report date: July 19
By now, you’ve probably heard about all the drama here. Things are getting contentious between Shemar Stewart and the Bengals. The team threw a curveball in their contract negotiations with him by adding new language to his deal that the Bengals didn’t use with their past two first-round picks. Stewart doesn’t want the language in there, the Bengals do, and now, the two sides are in a stalemate. Stewart skipped all of OTAs and although he showed up, he didn’t practice at mandatory minicamp. If we don’t see one side blink soon, it’s pretty much a guarantee that Stewart will hold out.
20th overall pick: Jahdae Barron (Broncos)
Broncos rookie report date: July 16
Besides Stewart, Barron is the only other first-round draft pick who still hasn’t signed his rookie deal. The good news here is that unlike the situation in Cincinnati, there doesn’t seem to be any tension between Barron and the Broncos. This seems like a deal that will be ironed out in the near future.
ESPN’s Jeff Legwold, who covers the Broncos, seems pretty confident that things will be resolved soon with Barron. “I think, in this case, it’s guaranteed money, how you’re getting it, when you’re getting it. I don’t think this will be an issue,” Legwold said during an interview with Altitude Sports Radio back on June 26.
The Broncos’ rookies will be reporting on Wednesday, so the two sides have less than 48 hours to get things figured out if Barron is going to report.
UNSIGNED SECOND ROUND PICKS (30)
35th: S Nick Emmanwori, Seahawks (Rookie report date: July 15)
36th: RB Quinshon Judkins, Browns (Rookie report date: July 18)
37th: OG Jonah Savaiinaea, Dolphins (Rookie report date: July 15)
38th: RB TreVeyon Henderson, Patriots (Rookie report date: July 19)
39th: WR Luther Burden, Bears (Rookie report date: July 19)
40th: QB Tyler Shough, Saints (Rookie report date: July 22)
41st: DT T.J. Sanders, Bills (Rookie report date: July 15)
42nd: TE Mason Taylor, Jets (Rookie report date: July 19)
43rd: DT Alfred Collins, 49ers (Rookie report date: July 15)
44th: DE Donovan Ezeiruaku, Cowboys (Rookie report date: July 21)
45th: DE J.T. Tuimoloau, Colts (Rookie report date: July 21)
46th: TE Terrance Ferguson, Rams (Rookie report date: July 22)
47th: CB Will Johnson, Cardinals (Rookie report date: July 22)
48th: OT Aireontae Ersery, Texans (Rookie report date: July 22)
49th: LB Demetrius Knight, Bengals (Rookie report date: July 19)
50th: TE Elijah Arroyo, Seahawks (Rookie report date: July 15)
51st: LB Nic Scourton, Panthers (Rookie report date: July 21)
52nd: LB Oluwafemi Oladejo, Titans (Rookie report date: July 22)
53rd: CB Benjamin Morrison, Buccaneers (Rookie report date: July 21)
54th: OT Anthony Belton, Packers (Rookie report date: July 18)
55th: WR Tre Harris, Chargers (Rookie report date: July 12)
56th: OT Ozzy Trapilo, Bears (Rookie report date: July 19)
57th: OG Tate Ratledge, Lions (Rookie report date: July 16)
58th: WR Jack Bech, Raiders (Rookie report date: July 17)
59th: LB Mike Green, Ravens (Rookie report date: July 15)
60th: RB RJ Harvey, Broncos (Rookie report date: July 16)
61st: Trey Amos, Commanders (Rookie report date: July 18)
62nd: Shemar Turner, Bears (Rookie report date: July 19)
63rd: Omarr Norman-Lott, Chiefs (Rookie report date: July 21)
64th: Andrew Mukuba, Eagles (Rookie report date: July 22)
So what’s causing the second-round hold up? Former NFL agent Joel Corry answered this question last month, and it seems like a good time to go over it again. Essentially, the hold up has to do with contract guarantees. The Texans decided to make history with the contract they gave Jayden Higgins and that decision threw a wrench into the entire second round.
- Texans make history with Jayden Higgins’ contract. Every player selected in the first round gets a fully guaranteed rookie contract, but that’s not the case with players taken in the second round. Well, it wasn’t until this year. When Higgins signed his deal on May 8, he became the first second-round pick in NFL history to get a fully guaranteed rookie deal, and he wasn’t even the first pick of the second round. He was the second pick of the round at 34th overall.
- Browns hand out the same deal. Higgins’ deal with the Texans put the Browns in a spot where they had to give a fully guaranteed contract to Carson Schwesinger, who was the first pick in the second round (33rd overall). The linebacker ended up getting a fully guaranteed deal, and in what was probably not a coincidence, he got it one day after Higgins officially signed his contract. In 2024, the first pick of the second round (Keon Coleman) only got 95.7% of his contract guaranteed, but Schwesinger got 100%.
- Tyler Shough has thrown a wrench into things. The Saints quarterback was taken with the 40th overall pick, and he also wants a fully guaranteed deal since he’s likely going to be the team’s starting QB this year. If Shough gets 100% in guarantees, then the players taken between 35th and 39th will almost certainly argue that they also deserve a fully guaranteed deal. For any player taken after Shough, they’re likely going to wait so they can see what kind of guarantees they can get. For instance, if Shough gets a fully guaranteed deal, the 41st player taken might ask for a deal that is 95% guaranteed and then things would trickle down from there.
Once Shough signs, everyone selected around him will have a better idea of how much they can get in guaranteed money. This is actually a pretty interesting situation, and you can read Corry’s full take on it here.
The situation involving Browns running back Quinshon Judkins could also have an impact on things. He was selected with the 36th overall pick, but after getting arrested over the weekend on a troubling domestic violence, he likely won’t be able to demand a fully guaranteed contract from the Browns and he could even be facing a suspension.
UNSIGNED FOURTH ROUND PICKS (1)
107th overall pick: LB Jack Kiser
Jaguars rookie report date: July 19
Of all the rookies who have yet to sign their deal, this one is probably the most inexplicable. All 193 players taken after the third round have already signed their rookie deal, except for Kiser. As the 107th overall pick, Kiser’s slotted contract will be a four-year, $5.25 million deal. The hold up likely has to do with when he’ll be getting his guaranteed money, but even if that’s the case, it would be a total shocker if Kiser ends up holding out. The Jaguars’ rookies will be reporting to camp on July 19, so the two sides have a few days to finalize the details in his deal.
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Author: John Breech
July 14, 2025 | 2:56 pm
