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Franchises – NFL Rookie Tussles Ahead of NFL Training Camps

Bengals' could enter the 2025 season without two pass rushers

Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images

For NFL rookies, the biggest thing to look forward to after getting drafted is to put on their team uniforms and get on the field to show everyone what they are made of. Making the 53-man roster and getting a chance to finally play professionally in the biggest American football league is the dream for each and every draftee.

So, ideally, rookie contracts are signed during the offseason, and they go largely unnoticed as it is just part of the process with not much excitement about it. The rookies are tied to a contract for the upcoming 3 to 4 years, depending on which round they are drafted, and everything else basically works out on its own.

This year, however, things have taken a different turn when the Houston Texans signed their second-round pick Jayden Higgins to a fully guaranteed contract, something that has never happened before with players drafted in the second round or later. This has led to some rising demands from the rest of the 2025 draft class.

Houston Texans and rookie wide receiver Jayden Higgins have agreed to a fully guaranteed four-year $11,700,824 contract, per Chris Cabott of @EquitySports. Higgins is the first second-round pick in NFL history to have a fully guaranteed contract. pic.twitter.com/fyPM50BTbL
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 8, 2025

2025 NFL Rookie Demands

Little did the Texans know, but this unique move led to other second-round draftees demanding fully guaranteed contracts for themselves or, at the very least, a higher guaranteed amount than what used to be the norm previously.

In the case of Higgins, the former Iowa State Cyclones’ wide receiver has signed a 4-year deal worth approximately $11.7 million, fully guaranteed. That means, even if the receiver does not pan out at the highest level or even if he gets injured, he will still earn every penny of his contract.

Until recently, 29 of the 32 second-round draftees had not been signed. The Cleveland Browns, however, signed Carson Schwesinger to a fully guaranteed $11.8 million contract just one day after the Texans signed Higgins.

2025 NFL 2nd Rounders Contract Status #NFLDraft #NFLRookieContracts #Rookie #Guarantee #NFL pic.twitter.com/IpG8yzbouS
— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) July 20, 2025

As per the latest update, more than half of the rookies now have deals in place, and all but 2 from the second round have signed contracts. Although only a handful of them have received fully guaranteed contracts, most of the remaining second-round draftees have received some amount to be guaranteed.

The only players who have yet to agree terms with their respective franchise are Cardinals’ cornerback Will Johnson, Titans’ defensive end Oluwafemi Oladejo, and Eagles’ safety Andrew Mukuba.

Browns running back Quinshon Judkins has also not signed his contract, but he was arrested on account of a domestic violence charge on July 12.

Why Bengals’ First Round Draftee Shemar Stewart Still Remains Unsigned?

While the entire drama over the second-round draftees has more or less fizzled out, one of the biggest surprises remains the still unsigned Bengals’ first-round defensive end Shemar Stewart.

A lot has been made about Stewart and his standoff with the Bengals over his contract, with reports also suggesting that the defender has threatened to go back to college football for the upcoming year.

These rumors have essentially been squashed by the Texas A&M coach Mike Elko, who acknowledged that Stewart has been training with his former college football team, but has no intention of going back to college football. His full focus remains on playing with the Bengals in the upcoming season.

“Shemar Stewart is back with us, working out, getting ready to go to Cincinnati to play in the NFL. It’s amazing what can get created on social media these days.”

Texas A&M coach Mike Elko confirms that Bengals 1st round pick Shemar Stewart is just working out with his old… pic.twitter.com/HZ9696d6yu
— Caleb Noe (@CalebNoeTV) July 17, 2025

Apparently, Stewart has yet to sign because of an unclear use of language in his contract. Cincinnati seems to have inserted a behaviour clause in his contract that states that if he behaves in a certain way, then the organization no longer owes him the money. However, there is no clarity on what type of behavior the Bengals are referring to.

Overall, there has been great news for most of the franchises ahead of the start of training camp and the preseason, which is just a couple of weeks away. Yet, for the teams that have not managed to sign their rookies, time is running short.

And, as for the Bengals, they could be without not one but two pass rushers with Trey Hendrickson’s contract talks still up in the air. Working out the minute details will be in the best interest of everyone before the start of the 2025 season.

Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images

Cincinnati Bengals

Jayden Higgins

NFL

shemar stewart

Devavrat Kulkarni

nfl

I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!