A few weeks ago, the Los Angeles Rams got to work on signing their rookies – both drafted and undrafted players. A total of 19 rookies inked their first contracts in the NFL on May 10, four of them being draft picks.
The Rams’ only two draftees who still haven’t signed yet are Terrance Ferguson (second round) and Jarquez Hunter (fourth round). When it comes to Ferguson’s situation, there’s very likely a reason his contract remains unsigned – and the Rams have two other teams to blame.
Of the 32 players drafted in the second round this year, only two of them have signed: Jayden Higgins of the Texans and Carson Schwesinger of the Browns. What do their two contracts have in common? They’re both fully guaranteed, and they were signed only one day apart.
Not to mention, they were the first two picks in the second round.
It’s no coincidence that other teams have chosen not to follow in the footsteps of the Texans and Browns by giving their second-round rookies fully guaranteed contracts. But you can bet the agents of those players are now pushing for their clients to also get fully guaranteed deals.
That likely includes Ferguson, who was the 46th overall pick in the draft out of Oregon. There are still 11 players drafted ahead of him who have not signed their contracts yet, and Ferguson may not put pen to paper until he sees a player drafted higher than him sign a contract that isn’t fully guaranteed.
The Rams likely won’t budge on this unless every other team follows the Texans’ and Browns’ lead, but they do have a history of rewarding second-rounders with better contracts. Just last year, the Rams gave Braden Fiske an atypical contract for a second-round pick when they made three years of his deal fully guaranteed, while also guaranteeing 15% of his salary in Year 4.
The overall value of their contracts can’t change due to the CBA but agents can negotiate how much of their clients’ deals are guaranteed. So until we have more movement on these contracts for players picked ahead of Ferguson, we’ll probably have to wait a little while longer for his deal to get signed.
The good news is he’s been participating in the offseason program, as has Hunter. So they’re not letting these contract situations get in the way of their work.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: This could be the reason Rams TE Terrance Ferguson hasn’t signed his rookie contract yet
Reporting by Cameron DaSilva, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
