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 third 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.
Cardinals Clips
Word on Monday morning was that quarterback Jacoby Brissett would attend the Cardinals’ mandatory minicamp this week and he’s not the only member of the team who decided to report after missing the team’s voluntary offseason sessions.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that edge rusher Josh Sweat is also in attendance. Both players faced fines if they did not report to this week’s minicamp.
Sweat is in his second season with the Cardinals and there were reports of trade interest from other clubs, but a report last week indicated that Arizona will not be making a deal. Sweat, who also missed voluntary work last year, had 12 sacks in his first season with the team.
Brissett has been looking for an adjustment to his contract that addresses his status as the likely starter for the Cardinals to open the season. Gardner Minshew, who signed with the team this season and has a larger guaranteed salary than Brissett, and third-round pick Carson Beck are the other quarterbacks in the mix for the NFC West team.
Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett wants a new contract and has skipped the team’s voluntary offseason work, but he plans to show this week for mandatory minicamp.
Brissett will be in attendance, but it’s unclear how much on-field work he will do, according to ESPN. If he were to skip mandatory minicamp, the Cardinals could fine Brissett $107,911.
Last offseason, Brissett signed a two-year, $12.5 million contract with the Cardinals. Heading into the second year of the deal, Brissett is due a salary of $4.9 million, of which $1.5 million is guaranteed.
This year, quarterback Gardner Minshew signed a one-year, $5.8 million contract with the Cardinals, and almost all of that is guaranteed. The Cardinals reportedly view Brissett as the starter and Minshew as the backup, at least until rookie third-round draft pick Carson Beck is ready to start, and Brissett may be questioning why his backup has a bigger guarantee.
Whether the Cardinals are willing to give Brissett the contract he wants remains to be seen, but now that the work is mandatory, Brissett is ready to get to work.
The Cardinals are down to one kicker on their 90-man roster.
Arizona announced the release of Josh Karty on Thursday afternoon. Chad Ryland is now the only kicker in Arizona.
Karty was claimed off of waivers from the Rams last season, but he never played in a game. He was 10-of-15 on field goals and 23-of-26 on extra points in eight games for the Rams in 2025.
The Cardinals also announced the signing of defensive back Isaiah Oliver. He appeared in 31 games for the Jets over the last two seasons and posted 112 tackles. He spent the 2023 season with the 49ers and spent five years with the Falcons after being drafted in the second round in 2018.
Speculation about edge rusher Josh Sweat’s future with the Cardinals has picked up over the course of his absence from the team’s offseason program, but a report on Wednesday tosses some cold water on thoughts of a trade.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Cardinals are not going to trade Sweat. Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur sent a similar message last week when asked about a report that the Cardinals have gotten trade offers from other teams.
Sweat also missed the voluntary portions of the offseason work after signing a four-year, $76.4 million deal with Arizona last year. He had 30 tackles, 12 sacks, four forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in his first season with the team.
Based on the recent word from inside and outside the organization, Sweat will get a chance to add to those totals in a Cardinals uniform this fall.
Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett is sitting out voluntary offseason practices while he seeks a new contract, which means he’s not building chemistry with wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
Asked whether he has developed chemistry with Brissett, Harrison answered, “Not much. He’s got to be here to do that.”
Harrison added, however, that he supports his teammate seeking what he considers a fair deal.
“I’m all supportive of what he’s doing. He has to do what’s best for him and his family,” Harrison said.
Ultimately, Harrison said a quarterback and a wide receiver get on the same page by working together.
“Reps are the best thing, constant communication off the field, whether it’s meeting with him, watching film together,” Harrison said.
Harrison and Brissett aren’t doing that, and there’s no telling when or if Brissett will get a contract that’s to his satisfaction.
Larry Fitzgerald Sr., a long-time Minnesota sports reporter and the father of soon-to-be Hall of Fame receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr., has died. He was 71.
Marcus Fitzgerald, the brother of Larry Jr., announced their father’s passing on social media, via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of our father, Larry Fitzgerald Sr.,” Marcus wrote. “A devoted father, husband, grandfather, and a true pioneer in the Minnesota broadcasting community, he spent his life pouring into the people and the city he loved so much.
“He left us peacefully this afternoon, surrounded by his family and the people who loved him most.”
Larry Fitzgerald Sr. was a fixture in the Minnesota sports scene since 1978.
“The Vikings organization is saddened by the passing of Larry Fitzgerald Sr., a distinguished journalist and trusted voice in Minnesota sports for nearly 50 years,” the Vikings said in a statement. “Larry built relationships with players, coaches and staff members for each of the local teams and was recognized across the NFL, covering dozens of Super Bowls and other major events.
“Beyond his reputation in the media, Larry was a dedicated father and a community leader who cared deeply about the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Our hearts are with Larry Jr., Marcus and the entire Fitzgerald family, as well as Larry’s friends and colleagues as they mourn his loss.”
We extend our condolences to Larry Fitzgerald Sr.'s family, friends, and colleagues.
Now that the Supreme Court has declined to accept the NFL’s last-ditch effort to force all or part of the Brian Flores case into arbitration, the litigation will finally get going.
And the going could get nasty.
By way of background, I have handled many employment cases. From both sides. After working for years at a firm that focused on representing corporate clients that had been sued (no matter how strong or weak a given case may have been), I decided that I was more interested in representing individuals who had cases I believed to be strong.
So I’ve been there, done that. Many times.
Here’s the reality. No company that has been sued for wrongful termination will admit it. The witnesses will have locked into their stories months before it’s time to take the oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Proving that the party line is essentially a lie requires a relentless pursuit of circumstantial evidence to contradict the predictable denial of discrimination, retaliation, etc. (For example, if the plaintiff was fired for violating a specific workplace rule, it’s useful to show that others violated the same rule, without being fired or even disciplined.)
This means that, in the Flores case, his lawyers will aggressively pursue deposition testimony from a wide range of witnesses from the league office and the various teams that have been sued (so far, the Dolphins, Broncos, Giants, Texans, Cardinals, and Titans). Plenty of the witnesses (starting with the Commissioner and any owners) will not react well to being verbally poked, prodded, and pressed for anything beyond the predictable default position: “we didn’t do anything wrong.” These witnesses will emerge from the deposition process feeling anywhere from frustrated to flat-out pissed off.
Flores (along with the other plaintiffs, Steve Wilks and Ray Horton) will deal with the same kind of thing. The lawyers representing the NFL and its teams will look for anything they can find to make them look bad. They’ll dig and dig and dig some more to make the process as uncomfortable as it can be. They’ll throw mud at the wall. They’ll throw mud directly at the plaintiffs. They’ll try to catch them in any potential misstatement, big or small, that could then be characterized at trial as a lie.
In the deposition process, there’s a wide range of latitude when questioning a witness. With no jury present, the lawyers don’t have to worry about being so aggressive (to the point of being openly hostile) that it may alienate the people who will decide the case.
This is what I’d typically say to anyone who was interested in suing a current or former employer: “Think of the worst thing about yourself that you wouldn’t want other people to know. You don’t have to tell me what it is. Just think of what it is. Then, think of what would happen if that thing became public. And then assume that, at some point during this litigation, it will.”
The unofficial playbook for lawyers defending corporate clients against claims of illegal employment practices includes turning the tables on the plaintiff in the hopes of making the plaintiff look as bad as possible when it’s time to present the case to a jury. It gets messy. It gets ugly. And, like the Commissioner and owners who are questioned by Flores’s lawyers, Flores will emerge from his deposition feeling anywhere from frustrated to flat-out pissed off.
That’s how it goes. The discovery process becomes the legal equivalent of a street fight. Which could be bad for the league, the teams, and/or Flores, Wilks, and Horton.
As the snippets of deposition testimony come to light, it will be very good for my current business.
Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett’s ongoing absence from the team’s offseason program has opened the door for others to get more work as the team prepares for the 2026 season.
Gardner Minshew is at the top of that list. The veteran signed with the team as a free agent this offseason and is getting a better chance at earning the starting job in Arizona than some might have thought earlier this year.
Minshew has started games for five teams under a variety of circumstances over his seven-year career, which has given him some perspective on making too much of any one moment in time when he was asked about being the No. 1 quarterback for the Cardinals.
“At some point, someone’s going to better than you and they’re gonna play,” Minshew said, via David Brandt of the Associated Press. “At some point, you’ll be the best guy in the room and you’ll get a chance to play. All you really have is your opportunity to work and get better and enjoy it with the guys around you.”
Third-round pick Carson Beck is also getting some extra looks while Brissett is away from the team and all of the quarterbacks could wind up getting their shot in the regular season unless the Cardinals are significantly better than expected this fall.
The Cardinals are projected to be one of the worst teams in the NFL this season, with oddsmakers listing them as underdogs in every game. One of their best players, edge rusher Josh Sweat, and their presumed starting quarterback, Jacoby Brissett, are not participating in the voluntary offseason program.
Brissett wants a pay raise for this season, while the Cardinals are getting trade calls for Sweat.
New head coach Mike LaFleur reiterated that he is not worried about any player’s absence.
“The few guys that weren’t out there that you guys probably saw today, very much we knew that they weren’t going to be here and a lot of it was planned,” LaFleur said, via NFL.com.
Brissett, 33, is entering the second year of a two-year deal he signed in March 2025. He is scheduled to make $4.88 million in 2026, with a max value of $5.39 million, but only $1.5 million is guaranteed.
Despite LaFleur bringing a new scheme, the coach cites Brissett’s 10 seasons across six teams.
“Like I said, you’d be hard-pressed to see if Jacoby hasn’t done most of what we are doing physically,” LaFleur said. “It’s word association from that point and cadences and all that kind of stuff. The hardest thing to teach a player is the speed of the game -- an NFL game, in general. He’s played a lot of ball, so, he’ll be just fine.”
Sweat led the team with a career-high 12 sacks last season. He had signed a four-year, $76.4 million deal with the Cardinals to reunite with coach Jonathan Gannon, who was Sweat’s defensive coordinator in Philadelphia for two seasons.
“I don’t even read into the offers,” LaFleur said. “I’m just excited about the fact that I don’t have to game plan against this guy. I got to know him when I first got this job. He’s a good dude. He goes about his process, and he’s not the first guy to go about his process the way he is in terms of how he’s training and all that.”
Sweat skipped the offseason program last season, too.
Arizona will hold a mandatory minicamp on June 8-10, which will result in a fine of $107,911 for any player who misses all three days.
