More than 90 percent of the players selected in the 2026 NFL draft have signed their rookie contracts. Among the players who remain unsigned, there are two big clusters, at the top of the third round and the top of the fourth round.
The first six players drafted in the third round are still unsigned: Cardinals quarterback Carson Beck, Broncos defensive tackle Tyler Onyedim, Raiders defensive end Keyron Crawford, Eagles tackle Markel Bell, Bears tight end Sam Roush and 49ers edge rusher Romello Height.
The first seven players drafted in the fourth round are also unsigned: Raiders cornerback Jermond McCoy, Bills tackle Jude Bowry, Jets defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr., Cardinals defensive tackle Kaleb Proctor, Chargers wide receiver Brenen Thompson, Texans guard Febechi Nwaiwu and 49ers defensive tackle Gracen Halton.
Those 13 players make up the majority of the 2026 draft picks who haven’t signed their rookie contracts yet.
Bills General Manager Brandon Beane said on the team’s YouTube show that high third and fourth-round picks are encouraged by the players’ union to ask for contract provisions that the players in the previous round are getting.
“A lot of years it was the third round took forever,” Beane said. “The union is constantly trying to push down everything from the second round into the third round, and then the third round to make the fourth round better. In this CBA it feels like the fourth round has become more difficult.”
Beane said he understand why Bowry’s agent doesn’t want him to sign until he sees what other fourth-round picks can get, but he thinks it will work itself out before training camp.
“Sometimes agents are a little afraid to do something if the guy in front of them hasn’t done it,” Beane said. “They don’t want to look bad. It’s all recruiting. Jude’s been great. Until it’s done it’s not done, but we’re optimistic.”
A handful of first- and second-round picks also remain unsigned. Every player picked in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds has signed.
The NFL Players Association “strongly opposes” the proposed changes to the California workers’ compensation laws, which would limit the rights of professional athletes. The NFL teams headquartered in the state — the Rams, the Chargers, and the 49ers — support the bill.
Although neither the NFL nor any of the California-based teams have made a public statement in that regard, the sponsor of the bill (Senator Laura Richardson) has indicated in a summary of the proposed legislation that the NFL and the three California teams support it.
She also states that Major League Baseball (including the L.A. Dodgers, the San Francisco Giants, the San Diego Padres, and the Sacramento A’s), the NHL (including the L.A. Kings, the Anaheim Ducks, and the San Jose Sharks), the Premiere Lacrosse League, the Women’s Lacrosse League, Major League Soccer, and the ECHL support the bill.
Neither the NBA nor any of its California-based teams (the L.A. Lakers, the L.A. Clippers, and the Golden State Warriors) are identified by Richardson as supporting the bill.
The NFLPA has separately sent to players and certified agents an email regarding the potential impacts of the legislation.
The emails, obtained by PFT, explain that the bill “would greatly change how NFL players access benefits for career-related injuries, particularly cumulative trauma claims.”
The bill, per the NFLPA, “narrows the ability to file claims tied to long-term, career-related wear and tear — one of the primary avenues for players seeking coverage.” It also imposes "[t]ighter eligibility for California claims,” by redefining “what qualifies as a California-based team, limiting when and where players can bring claims in the state.”
The NFLPA contends that the bill shifts “liability away from clubs and increases the likelihood that players bear a greater share of injury-related medical costs,” and that it applies “a narrower set of circumstances . . . to a player’s final California team, reducing flexibility in pursuing benefits.”
The bill, per the NFLPA, also applies retroactively “to active and pending claims that have not yet been finalized, introducing risk for clients who have already filed or are in process.”
This is at least the third time an effort has commenced to change the California workers’ compensation laws to the detriment of professional athletes.
As to the NFL, the costs for workers’ compensation insurance are currently baked into the Collective Bargaining Agreement. And it’s possible that supporting the changes constitutes an effort by the NFL to circumvent the CBA.
In that regard, the union should perhaps push for a clear commitment in the next CBA that the NFL will not support any efforts to restrict players’ rights under the workers’ compensation laws in any states where the NFL does business.
The Chargers have agreed to a contract with their top pick in this year’s draft.
Edge rusher Akheem Mesidor’s agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey told ESPN that their client has agreed to terms with the Chargers. The 22nd overall pick will make over $20.45 million over four years and the Chargers hold a fifth-year option on the contract.
Mesidor had 12.5 sacks during his final season at Miami and had 13.5 over his previous three seasons. One of those years was cut short by foot injuries and Mesidor also played two seasons at West Virginia earlier in his collegiate run.
Fourth-round pick Brenen Thompson is now the only Chargers pick yet to agree to a contract with the team.
Justin Herbert is overhauling his footwork, as offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel tries to get the Chargers quarterback to speed up his release.
Herbert didn’t throw a football in Tuesday’s OTA practice. Instead, he used a weighted free ball for footwork drills while working through his throwing motion. He said he expects to do that one day a week into the season.
“I thought it was helpful for my footwork just to be able . . . not to have to worry about throwing the ball right now,” Herbert said, via Kris Rhim of ESPN. “Mechanically, it’s a little different timing. . . . He wants the ball out early. We feel like that is going to help us get the ball out quicker.”
McDaniel’s offense requires anticipation, something Herbert is working hard to improve on.
“We really emphasized the first couple of weeks of just getting the ball out as quick as possible,” Herbert said. “Almost getting to a point where the receivers haven’t looked back for it yet, and that just allows them to catch the ball with maximum ability to turn upfield and have time before a defender gets to them.”
Herbert was the most hit and pressured quarterback last season, as Pro Bowl tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt played a combined six games. Herbert, though, took responsibility for some of the hits and pressures, saying he held the ball too long at times.
Herbert expects to be better at getting the ball out quicker this season, because of McDaniel’s approach.
“I think he’s just got a great feel for the game and I think he understands how defenses are ever changing and it’s his goal to be able to take away the pass rush,” Herbert said. “If you’re getting the ball out quickly, there’s really nothing they can do about it.”
They have to install playing surfaces that meet exacting standards. They have to change the names of the facilities. They have to shut down all other business (such as major concerts) for the duration of the World Cup.
Given the hoops through which the 11 NFL stadiums will have to jump in order to placate FIFA, it’s fair to ask whether it’s worth it.
Ben Volin of the Boston Globe recently took a look at that question. Said an NFL official from a team that won’t be hosting any of the World Cup games, “I know more than a few teams weren’t disappointed to lose the bid.”
That could be sour grapes, because those who won the right to host the matches are crowing about it.
“Can’t sleep,” Cowboys owner and G.M. Jerry Jones said recently, per Volin. “This is a great chance to associate with the worldwide love with soccer, and lets us put a little notch on our belt and share it with what soccer’s about, too. They’ll never be able to take away that we held those games in that stadium.”
Cowboys executive Stephen Jones echoed the sentiment: “We’ll be shut down all summer. But it’s worth it. I mean, this is about brand and, you know, being a part of something special.”
The Joneses wanted to host the matches badly enough to give up their suite for the matches.
“I think I’ve got to go someplace else, but that was a part of it,” Jerry Jones said. “We did a lot of things to make this work.”
The Cowboys, Patriots, Falcons, Texans, Chargers/Rams, Giants/Jets, Chiefs, Seahawks, 49ers, Dolphins, and Eagles will be hosting World Cup games in their stadiums.
The total revenue is projected, per Volin, to be roughly $11 billion. FIFA will pay rent for the stadiums, while keeping the revenue from sponsorships, tickets, suites, merchandise, concessions, and parking.
So how much will the teams get for hosting the World Cup? Per Volin, the terms “have been kept under wraps.”
Given that folks like Jones are not known for doing bad deals, they’ll surely be making more money to host the World Cup matches than they would have made in a normal summer.
Still, it’s a headache. Extra work, extra expenses, extra hassles.
Not to mention the P.R. bruise that comes from the perception/reality that NFL owners who are giving FIFA the surfaces it demands while stubbornly refusing to do the same for pro football players.
