There are only three unsigned draft picks left in the NFL, but the biggest name of the bunch might stay that way for a bit.
According to Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com, the Titans insist they won’t budge on including offset language in quarterback Marcus Mariota’s contract, creating a bit of a standoff with the second overall pick.
“We’ve always had offset language in our player contracts. It’s nothing new,” Titans interim CEO and president Steve Underwood said. “I think it is important where a high first-round draft pick is concerned, because it’s the precedent. Everything that we do is precedential for the next round of contracts.
“So keeping the offset in place is something we want to be able to do going forward. And the minute you back away from the contract principal then you no longer are able to assert it going forward.”
Offset language is only important as it pertains to the player from double-dipping if he fails to live up to expectations and is cut by his original team. But with the four-year term of rookie deals (plus an option year the team can pick up), the likelihood that a team would cut bait on such a high pick — especially a quarterback — within that window seems remote. Even Jake Locker got four years.
But Underwood seems determined to stick with his principle here.
“Whatever you do echoes into eternity with player contracts,” Underwood said. “We just can’t afford to take a step back, at least this early in the process. We’re still a couple of weeks away from training camp.”
The Titans report to training camp on July 30, practicing for the first time the next day.
Whether Mariota is there apparently depends on one side blinking.
