A staredown between NFL teams and agents for 30 of the 32 second-round draft picks may impact the Buffalo Bills' depth on the defensive line at the start of training camp.
T.J. Sanders, the South Carolina defensive tackle whom the Bills traded up to take with the 41st pick of the draft, remained unsigned Monday while he and the rest of the league's second-round rookies wait to see if they can obtain fully guaranteed contracts.
Even if someone in the group is willing to accept a non-guaranteed contract, they don't want to be the first one to agree on such a deal because it could impact negotiations for everyone else.
Buffalo Bills Mandatory Mini Camp (copy)
Buffalo Bills defensive tackle T. J. Sanders is among 30 NFL second-round draft picks who have yet to sign their rookie contracts. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Sanders, like every NFL rookie, cannot report to training camp until he signs a contract, and the Bills' rookies are due to report to the team facility Tuesday. They will join the veterans at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford on July 22 (the first practice is July 23).
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Sanders was one of three defensive linemen and six defensive players drafted by general manager Brandon Beane in April. Sanders is the Bills' only unsigned draft pick. In addition to the second-round picks, the NFL has 10 rookies who have yet to sign, including Cincinnati Bengals first-round edge rusher Shemar Stewart and Denver Broncos first-round cornerback Jahdae Barron.
Negotiations across the league reached a standstill in early May after the Houston Texans made Iowa State wide receiver Jayden Higgins the first second-round pick in NFL history to receive a fully guaranteed rookie contract. The Cleveland Browns, who infamously guaranteed Deshaun Watson's $230 million contract in 2022, did the same for the first pick of the second round, UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger, who received $11.8 million.
T.J. Sanders being counted on to play a big role on the Bills' D-line – but first, he needs to sign
There is good reason to believe that the best is yet to come for T.J. Sanders. The Buffalo Bills certainly believe that to be true, which explains why the team traded up in the second round of the NFL draft in April to select him.
No other team has been willing to do the same for their second-round rookie. The NFL's collective bargaining agreement in 2011 implemented a rookie wage scale, which decided how much a draft pick could make based on when they were selected. Agents can negotiate guaranteed money and specific clauses, but their rookie clients' salaries are already set.
NFL teams don't want guaranteed contracts to become a precedent for second-round draft picks.
The Bills gave their 2024 second-round draft pick, wide receiver Keon Coleman, a contract with $9.64 million in guaranteed money. Their 2023 second-round selection, left guard O'Cyrus Torrence, was guaranteed $3.307 million. Their third-round pick in 2025, edge rusher Landon Jackson, received $1.45 million guaranteed in the contract he signed in May.
Guaranteed contracts have been a focal point for players and NFL owners since the Browns acquired and signed Watson in 2022. Pablo Torre, a longtime ESPN reporter who is now hosting a podcast through Meadowlark Media, recently released a previously confidential 61-page document from January in which an arbitrator ruled that commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL's general counsel encouraged owners to limit players' guaranteed money in contracts.
The news was accompanied by the shocking revelation that the NFL Players Association did not disclose the arbitrator's findings to its membership because of a backdoor confidentiality agreement with the league. The reported collusion stemmed from a 2022 lawsuit in which the NFLPA claimed that the teams and league breached the CBA by colluding to not offer players fully guaranteed contracts. The lawsuit focused on quarterbacks Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson.
Buffalo Bills position preview: Defensive tackle has undergone a makeover
By trading up for South Carolina defensive tackle T.J. Sanders in the second round, the Bills did more than just add at defensive tackle – they also gave themselves a potential out on Ed Oliver’s contract after the 2025 season.
The Los Angeles Chargers rookies reported to training camp Saturday without their second-round selection, Ole Miss wide receiver Tre Harris, who remains unsigned. It is not a holdout and not subject to daily fines because he is not under contract. But Harris' absence is the first significant pressure point created by a second-round rookie since Schwesinger signed one day after Higgins.
The Browns' other second-round pick, Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins, remains unsigned, and he was arrested Saturday on a domestic violence and battery charge in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The Bills don't want Sanders to miss any portion of training camp. He is among the young players they're counting on to improve a defense that allowed 368 total yards and 32 points in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game.
Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones are atop the depth chart at defensive tackle, but Sanders and fourth-round rookie Deone Walker will compete against 2024 third-round pick DeWayne Carter for significant snaps at the position. Larry Ogunjobi, an eight-year veteran signed as a free agent, is suspended for six games to start the season for violating the NFL's policy against performance-enhancing drugs.
Meet Bills rookie Deone Walker, a 6-foot-7 'freak athlete' who grew, fell to Round 4 and may still explode
“Deone Walker, to me – when you turn on the tape, he does things at his size that you’re not expecting someone at that size to be able to do,” Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said.
Sanders totaled 109 tackles, including 17½ for a loss and 9½ sacks, across four seasons at South Carolina. He started 16 of the 39 games in which he appeared for the Gamecocks. The 6-foot-4 prospect pairs an 80-inch wingspan with a high motor and tenacity, qualities that convinced the Bills to trade up to select him with the ninth pick of the second round.
"We're going to play a lot of young guys on defense," Bills coach Sean McDermott said last month. "That's the way I see it right now: At least there's going to be some youth to our defense and we're going to be counting on a number of those guys to step up for us."
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