Another team that thought enough of the work done by their scouting staff to take a player in the first round of the NFL Draft is holding off on signing that player because they’re worried that they’ll wind up cutting him before he plays four years in the NFL.
According to a report from Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean, it’s the Titans who are pushing for offset language in guard Chance Warmack’s contract. Warmack, the 10th overall pick in April, takes the same negative view of such language as many of his peers have taken, which leaves Warmack without a contract a week ahead of the start of training camp.
The offset issue is also delaying contracts for several other players in the top 10, including Dolphins defensive end Dion Jordan, Eagles tackle Lane Johnson and Browns linebacker Barkevious Mingo. All the teams are reportedly pushing for language that would allow them to only owe the difference between the player’s original salary and any salary they get from a new team while players want to have the total contract guaranteed, which teams have bemoaned as “double-dipping.”
With nothing else to fight about in regard to rookie contracts after the new CBA restructured the way deals are done, offsets have lingered as a way for both sides to battle since there’s an argument to be made for both positions. Given that pigs fly about as often as first-round picks get bounced before the end of their first deals, one is free to wonder if time might be better spent fighting about the font used for the contract itself.
