The Buffalo Bills have nearly signed their entire rookie draft class, but the headliner, seventh overall pick Josh Allen, remains contractless. The former Wyoming quarterback has participated in Buffalo’s rookie minicamp and the mandatory minicamp, but with training camp a few weeks away, the talks have been “slow going”. That report comes from John Wawrow of The Associated Press.
It makes sense that Allen’s deal is still unresolved. Only half of the NFL’s first round picks have signed deals as of Tuesday, and only two of the top ten picks are signed (number six pick Quenton Nelson, and number ten pick Josh Rosen). While the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement provides a slotting framework for signing rookie draft picks, there’s plenty of wiggle room for guarantees and bonuses. Making things more complicated is that four quarterbacks were drafted in the top ten picks of the draft. While Rosen signed his deal, Allen’s agency may be waiting for Baker Mayfield or Sam Darnold to sign first and establish a pattern.
Given that Allen has shown no hesitation to play without a deal, and that quarterbacks are protected from hits during training camp, the contract negotiations shouldn’t become an issue unless they stick into August and preseason games begin. For now, the team remains optimistic - Wawrow noted that the organization doesn’t have any real concern about Allen’s contract situation yet.