Jacksonville Jaguars WR/CB Travis Hunter is still unsigned.
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JJacksonville Jaguars WR/CB Travis Hunter is still unsigned.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have been extremely lucky that their first-round draft pick has been out practicing at OTAs and now mandatory minicamps. Travis Hunter has been so active at the team’s workouts that I think many people have forgotten an important note: he’s still not signed.
Depending on what kind of insurance he has at the moment for any injuries that could occur, there could be problem if he were to go down on the field at the team’s facility.
As for when a deal could be reached with the No. 2-overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said that it might take a minute, but it will eventually get done.
“I don’t expect a holdout,” Rapoport said. “We rarely, rarely, rarely see a holdout, but I do think this will take some time. But, if you’re talking about Jaguars fans, you’re talking about Jaguars people, I don’t think they have anything to worry about because he’s almost certainly going to be participating in training camp. You’d think they will figure out a way to get it done by then.”
The money isn’t the issue because of the rookie slotting system. There isn’t much wiggle room in terms of contract length and value. According to Spotrac, the second-overall pick will get a deal worth $46.571 million over four years and will include a $30.5 million signing bonus. As with all first-round NFL draft picks, the contract will include a fifth-year team option.
Any of the sticking points regarding the contract likely center around the timing of payments and other guarantees.
Hunter still happy to be out there with his teammates
Based on all of his public interviews, Hunter genuinely seems like a good kid who just wants to play football. Very little has been made of the fact that he’s unsigned, probably because he himself hasn’t said much or made a big deal about it.
“It’s been very easy for me,” Hunter said. “The guys come in and I bring the juice every day. I always got a smile on my face and make everyone laugh when I get the chance.
“So we’re just having fun and just being kids out here – just loving it and living our dream.”
His positive attitude is infectious, but as they say, ‘it’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye.’
One has to wonder if Hunter was given pause yesterday when his fellow star receiver had an injury scare at minicamp. Brian Thomas, Jr. went down hard at practice, but was able to get off the field. All reports since then say that he’s fine. But still, anything can happen.
Hunter one of four unsigned first rounders
In addition to Hunter (who is by far the highest draft pick who still hasn’t inked his name), there are three other first rounders that aren’t under contract. Cincinnati Bengals‘ edge rusher Shemar Stewart, Denver Broncos‘ cornerback Jahdae Barron and Buffalo Bills cornerback Maxwell Hairston still haven’t signed their rookie deals according to NFL.com’s “first-round pick signing tracker.”
Stewart is the most entertaining for sure. While just about everyone in the NFL world is aware of the frustrations that come with doing business with the Bengals, he’s already finding out and he’s not even technically a member of the team yet. And he’s not being quiet about it either.
“In my case, I’m 100% right,” Stewart said a few days ago. “I’m not asking for nothing that’s never been done before. In [the team’s case], y’all just want to win an argument instead of winning more games, in my opinion.”
And he went on, and it got worse.
On one hand, it doesn’t seem like those kinds of comments are in Hunter’s DNA. That said, he’s also not dealing with the Bengals. A training camp holdout doesn’t seem likely for Hunter, but a hold-in could be on the table. For Jaguars fans, hopefully something gets done in the next month or so and they won’t have to find out.