With training camps opening, more draft picks than usual remain unsigned. The official number stands at 32.
Thirty of them come from round two, thanks to the fact that the first two players taken in the round received fully-guaranteed deals. The third through 32nd players remain unsigned. There’s a way for them to band together and pressure the teams, if the NFL Players Association is able to herd the agent-cats. (Or to even try.)
The other two unsigned players were taken in the first round. One is Bengals edge rusher Shemar Stewart. He’s the 17th pick. His impasse with the team has been well documented; they’re haggling over the impact of a default on future guarantees.
The other unsigned draft pick is Broncos cornerback Jahdae Barron, the 20th overall pick. The delay in his contract possibly relates to the spike in training-camp roster bonuses in that range of round one. The player taken in front of Barron (Bucs receiver Emeka Egbuka) had his training-camp roster bonus percentage for years two, three, and four jump from 70 percent to 96.2 percent. The player taken behind Barron (Steelers defensive tackle Derrick Harmon) had his training-camp roster bonus percentage for the same three years increase from 52.34 percent to 84.93 percent.
Barron’s slot in 2024 was at 61.93 percent.
Regardless of the specific reason(s) for Barron not being signed, he’s one of two non-second-round picks to not sign. In another other year, it would only be Stewart and Barron without contracts.
This year, thanks to the fight over round-two guarantees, 13 percent of all draft picks remain without contracts as training camps prepare to open.
And while these players fairly can be called “holdouts” (they’re “holding out” for better deals), no financial penalties apply to their absences. They can’t be fined. Their signing bonuses can’t be attacked. They are not employed by their teams, because they have not yet agreed to terms.
In late April, former NFL agent Jeff Sperbeck died after falling from a golf cart being driven by Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway. Elway soon will be officially cleared of any responsibility for the incident.
Via Mike Klis of 9News.com, the Riverside County, California sheriff’s office plans to make a formal announcement in the coming days that there was no criminal activity in connection with Sperbeck’s death, and that it was an accident.
“It’s over,’’ Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco told Klis. “We’ve talked to everyone involved and we found nothing new. There was nothing criminal, it was what we’ve been saying all along that this was a tragic accident.”
The investigation included video evidence of Sperbeck falling from the cart.
“I’ve looked at video 100 times and there’s no explanation as to why he fell off, he just fell off,’’ Bianco told Klis.
The investigation remained open so that authorities could track down any and all available video evidence of the incident.
Per Klis, there was no horseplay or swerving. Alcohol was not a factor. Sperbeck simply fell off the cart and struck his head.
There was a hearing on Wednesday in the civil lawsuit against Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe. There wasn’t supposed to be.
Attorney Tony Buzbee has informed PFT that the lawyers had agreed to postpone the July 9 hearing.
Buzbee shared this statement from Sharpe’s legal team: “We are apologizing to the Court by letter for wasting the Court’s time. There was a mutual agreement among counsel to postpone the motion scheduled for July 9. As a result, there was no expectation by our team that her legal team would appear in person.”
It’s odd that Sharpe’s lawyers would have shown up for the hearing, if the hearing had been postponed. It’s odd that, if/when the judge expressed disappointment regarding the failure of the plaintiff’s lawyers to appear, Sharpe’s lawyers wouldn’t have said that the lawyers had agreed to postpone the hearing.
Regardless, that’s the explanation for why Buzbee wasn’t there.
The case otherwise continues. At some point, Sharpe will respond to the complaint. Unless, of course, the case settles. In theory, that can happen at any time.
The civil lawsuit against Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe went to court for the first time this week. Per KLAS-TV, via AwfulAnnouncing.com, the attorney representing the plaintiff didn’t show up.
As noted here earlier in the week, the hearing was scheduled in connection with three different motions to associate counsel.
Per the report, Judge Anna Albertson expressed “disappointment” that the plaintiff was not represented for the hearing. The complaint identifies two lawyers representing the plaintiff: Tony Buzbee and Micah Nash.
Given the information in the court records, the hearing did not involve anything critical to the case. Still, if the judge expects the lawyers to be there, it’s probably a good idea to be there.
The next hearing is set for September 3.
Sharpe, as of our last posting, had yet to respond to the $50 million complaint. His primary options are filing a motion to dismiss or answering the allegations, one paragraph at a time. If/when Sharpe answers the complaint, he also can file a counterclaim against the plaintiff. His lawyer has said that Sharpe plans to do so.
UPDATE 1:28 p.m. ET: Attorney Tony Buzbee tells PFT that the hearing had been postponed by agreement of counsel.
Safety Justin Simmons has been named a second-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowler over the course of his nine-year NFL career, but he’s never appeared in a playoff game and changing that is the top thing on his mind as he looks for a place to play in 2025.
A report in June indicated that the Panthers were interested in the veteran, but that no signing was imminent and it might not come together if Simmons continues to prioritize the chance to get to the postseason. Simmons signed with the the Falcons last year after his eight-year run with the Broncos came to an end and Simmons said that he’s taking his time before signing anywhere else because he wants to make sure the team is in position to succeed.
“I think Atlanta I would still pick 10 out of 10 times if I was in the spot last year,” Simmons said, via Sean Keeler of the Denver Post. “But in terms of where I’m at now, being a little bit more picky where we want to go and where we want to call home next . . . the next two years, a year, whatever it is . . . but a contender is No. 1 on the list right now.”
The Broncos ended their own playoff drought without Simmons last year and Simmons said there’s no “bad blood” after he was cut loose for cap reasons, but it doesn’t seem likely that a reunion is a likely place for Simmons to end his current employment search.
