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.
Jets Clips
The Jets made a change to their wide receiver group on Monday.
They announced the signing of Jalen Walthall. Quentin Skinner was waived with an injury designation to make room for Walthall on the 90-man roster.
Walthall initially signed with the Texans after going undrafted this year, but he was waived in Houston last week. Walthall had 155 catches for 2,137 yards and 22 touchdowns at Incarnate Word the last two seasons. He transferred to the school after spending two years at Hawaii.
Skinner played in one game after being signed to the Jets’ active roster late last season.
Despite playing in the nation’s top market, the Jets didn’t get a single prime-time game in 2026. Which is a reflection of where the franchise currently stands in the NFL’s hierarchy.
Via Rich Cimini of ESPN, Jets coach Aaron Glenn views the absence of night games pragmatically.
“To me, it’s more of you earn the right,” Glenn said, per Cimini. “And, yes, you can use that as motivation, but you earn the right. That’s the good thing about this league. You earn your right -- players, coaches, everybody. You earn your right to get what you get in this league.”
As noted by Cimini, the lack of games under the lights could be a good thing for the Jets. They’re 3-16 in their last 19 night games.
Of the 16 Jets games that have set times, 14 begin at 1:00 p.m. ET. The other two are 4:05 p.m. regional games at the Chargers (Week 11) and the Cardinals (Week 15).
The Jets could get a prime-time game (or a standalone window) on Week 18, either in one of the three Saturday windows or to end the regular season on Sunday night. Flexing in earlier weeks is an option, too, if the Jets are more competitive than they have been since the last time they made it to the playoffs, in 2010.
The schedule allows the Jets to stick to a routine. Barring a flex to Thursday night or Sunday night, they’ll play all of their games before Week 18 on Sunday afternoon.
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.
The Jets added a wide receiver to their roster on Thursday.
They announced the signing of Gee Scott. There was no corresponding move needed to clear space for Scott as the Jets waived wideout Da’Quan Felton on Wednesday.
Scott entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2025 and signed with the Patriots. He spent time on their practice squad and on Washington’s before the Commanders released him earlier this year.
Scott played 51 games at Ohio State and saw most of his time as a tight end while with the Buckeyes. He was a teammate of Jets wideout Garrett Wilson for a couple of seasons and finished his college time with 47 catches for 393 yards and four touchdowns.
Veteran kicker Jason Sanders didn’t have to wait long to find a new job after being released by the Giants this week.
Sanders didn’t have to move far to join his new team either. Zack Rosenblatt of TheAthletic.com reports that Sanders will sign with the Jets.
The move will spell the end of the Jets run for another former Giants kicker. Younghoe Koo will be released after signing with the team last week.
Sanders spent seven seasons as the Dolphins’ kicker before missing all of last season with a hip injury. He was 187-of-221 on field goals and 259-of-268 on extra points while with Miami.
Cade York is currently the only other kicker on the Jets’ roster.
Russell Wilson is joining CBS as an analyst on The NFL Today for the 2026 season and he chose that job over an opportunity to serve as the backup quarterback to Geno Smith with the Jets.
Wilson’s move into broadcasting came up during Jets head coach Aaron Glenn’s press conference on Tuesday. The Jets currently have Brady Cook, Bailey Zappe, and fourth-round pick Cade Klubnik behind Smith and Glenn was asked about the impact Wilson’s decision has on their plans for the No. 2 job.
“Nothing at all,” Glenn said. “I think the last time we talked I had said that we were looking at number of quarterbacks, and that’s just what it was. Hopefully he will have a good TV career. Heck, I know that he’ll be good at it, and congrats to him.”
A report last month said that the Jets want to see more of Klubnik in OTAs before making any other moves for a more experienced quarterback and the elimination of Wilson as an option would seem to give the rookie a stronger chance of winding up in the backup role.
The Jets signed a couple of players to their 90-man roster on Monday.
They announced the additions of linebacker Chase Wilson and wide receiver Da’Quan Felton. They also confirmed that they have waived kicker Lenny Krieg and linebacker Kobe King.
Wilson tried out for the Jets at their rookie minicamp. He had 46 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, and 2 interceptions while playing for West Virginia last season.
Felton signed with the Giants after going undrafted in 2025 and he spent the entire season on injured reserve. He had 70 receptions for 1,027 yards and 10 touchdowns while at Virginia Tech.
Russell Wilson is staying in New York. But he won’t be playing for the Jets.
Via Adam Schefter of ESPN, Wilson is “finalizing a deal” to become an analyst with CBS.
Wilson will be joining The NFL Today, which currently features James Brown, Nate Burleson, and Bill Cowher. A seat opened when Matt Ryan left to become the Falcons’ president of football.
The Jets were considering Wilson as a veteran backup to Geno Smith, who once was Wilson’s backup in Seattle. Wilson has said he had an offer from the Jets.
It’s rare for any quarterback who was once the highest-paid player in the league to happily accept the second spot on a depth chart. (Joe Flacco is the one of the most significant exceptions.) Wilson was the Giants’ starter when he signed there in 2025, and he was the Steelers’ starter when he signed there in 2024. His days as a starter are and were over.
As to the biggest TV opportunities, those seats don’t always pop open. With Ryan exiting, there was a current opportunity for Wilson. If he didn’t take it now, it may not have been there in a year.
Wilson, a third-round pick out of Wisconsin, started for the Seahawks from 2012 through 2021. He was traded to the Broncos in 2022.
A Super Bowl winner and a 10-time Pro Bowler, Wilson was never a first-team All-Pro or a serious MVP candidate. At 16th on the all-time passing yardage list and 12th on the all-time passing touchdown list, he’ll have a somewhat challenging case to get to Canton.
That’s where a great career in TV can make a difference. Yes, the debate will be about his playing career. And, yes, his case will get stronger if he becomes a successful and enduring presence in NFL broadcast universe.
The Jets signed David Bailey and Kenyon Sadiq last month and they’re kicking off June by getting their third first-round pick from this year under contract.
Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports that they have agreed to terms with wide receiver Omar Cooper on a four-year rookie deal. The Jets will have an option for a fifth season as well.
The Jets traded second- and fifth-round picks to the 49ers to move back up to No. 30 in order to select Cooper late in the first round. He had 69 catches for 937 yards and 13 touchdowns while playing for Indiana last season.
Fourth-round defensive lineman Darrell Jackson is the only Jets draft pick who has not agreed to a contract yet.
