Several second-round picks from the 2025 NFL Draft remain unsigned as they seek fully guaranteed rookie contracts, according to Joel Corry of CBS Sports.
Back in May, the Texans gave No. 34 pick Jayden Higgins a fully guaranteed deal, the first of its kind for a second-round pick. In past years, the first few picks of the second round have received three years of fully guaranteed money with increasing fourth-year guarantees after each draft. The Texans’ move put pressure on the Browns to do the same with No. 33 pick Carson Schwesinger, which they did the next day.
With this new precedent, Saints second-round quarterback Tyler Shough is demanding a fully guaranteed rookie contract of his own, per Corry. That would be a sizable jump from 2024 No. 40 pick Cooper DeJean, who only received partial guarantees in his third year and none in his fourth, per OverTheCap. Shough was taken with pick No. 40, six spots after Higgins, but the recent retirement of Derek Carr has positioned him as the Saints’ starting quarterback, giving him some extra leverage in negotiations.
Knowing that, the players drafted between Higgins and Shough are waiting to sign with their teams. If Shough can get a fully guaranteed contract from the Saints, every player selected before him will have an argument to receive the same deal. However, their teams will argue that Shough’s situation — and quarterbacks in general — are unique when it comes to contract negotiations.
Players selected in the early 40s will also be “hoping to benefit from a trickle-down effect” from Shough’s negotiations, according to Corry. If he extracts a fully guaranteed deal, the next few picks will push for their first three years to be fully guaranteed and potentially ask for guarantees in the fourth year as well.
Head coach Kellen Moore said he’s not concerned right now about the youth at the quarterback position. He said things can work themselves out, according to foxsports.com.
Moore pointed to his time in Dallas, when Dak Prescott took over as a rookie in 2016.
“It’s all about opportunities,” Moore said. “(Prescott) hopped in there and played great. And certainly, there’s a lot of other quarterbacks through the history of this game who’ve done it in a similar fashion. So, we feel like we’ve got some young guys who are ready to roll.”
Shough said he is focusing on getting better and letting the other things fall into place.
“A lot of things you can’t control,” Shough said. “But you can control your preparation, your attitude, your effort — and that’s one thing I’m going to do.”
And Moore said he likes what he’s seen from Shough this far.
“He’s a really, really prepared quarterback,” Moore said. “He can handle NFL volume. He’s handled the playbook tremendously.”
As for Rattler, he needs to show more than he did in 2024. The Saints finished with a record of 5-12, and Rattler didn’t make great strides. But he does have a year of experience under his belt. And that could help in the battle with Shough.
“It helps a lot just with the speed of everything, understanding what you’re going to see week in and week out,” Rattler said. “You can’t put too much pressure on yourself,” Rattler added. “It’s Year 2 — a great opportunity ahead of me.”
Also trying to get in the mix is Jake Haener, a 2023 fourth-round pick.
Questions have arisen about whether the Saints would try to add a veteran to stabilize the young mix. That’s a possibility, according to nfl.com.
“Certainly there’s times where if the opportunity presents itself, you feel like it’s a really good fit, we’d love to do it,” Moore said. “We feel like we have some good guys here that can certainly mentor each other at the same time going through this process.
“I feel like our quarterback room has some experience there in the sense that myself, (offensive coordinator) Doug Nussemeier, (QB coach) Scott Tolzein, we’ve all been around this for a while from a player’s and a coach’s perspective. We do feel like we’ve got a good room there, but obviously we’re always looking to upgrade our roster as we go. So it may happen.”
Moore said he wants his young quarterbacks to get as many reps as possible. So even if the team adds a veteran, it may come closer to the start of the season.
“We’ll see how this whole thing progresses,” Moore said. “The roster is a moving, dynamic thing throughout the offseason process. Right now, we feel great, we feel like we’ve got some young guys, we’re excited to just get them on the field and participate.
“We’ll give those guys a bunch of opportunities. It’ll be exciting to see them get out there, learn, grow, (and) make good plays.
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