The Seattle Seahawks are now front and center in one of the NFL’s most interesting offseason storylines.
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In years past, fully guaranteed rookie contracts have been the league-wide norm for first-round draft picks. But prior to this spring, no second-round pick had ever received a fully guaranteed rookie deal.
That all changed back in May when the Houston Texans gave wide receiver Jayden Higgins – the No. 34 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft and the second pick of the second round – the first-ever fully guaranteed rookie contract for a second-rounder.
The Cleveland Browns then quickly followed suit by giving linebacker Carson Schwesinger – the No. 33 overall pick and top pick of the second round – a fully guaranteed deal as well.
Since then, the remaining 30 second-round picks have yet to sign their rookie contracts. That includes Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori (the No. 35 overall pick) and tight end Elijah Arroyo (the No. 50 overall pick).
As the highest-drafted second-rounder yet to sign, Emmanwori could be the next domino to fall. That puts the Seahawks and general manger/president of football operations John Schneider in a unique position with rookies scheduled to report Tuesday ahead of training camp, which is set to begin a week later on July 23.
“If Schneider doesn’t give Nick Emmanwori a fully guaranteed contract, then (for the picks after him) those teams can tell those players, look, the guy chosen five spots ahead of you didn’t get it. Why do you think you do?” Stacy Rost said Tuesday on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. “So there really is kind of a precedent that Schneider can potentially set here.
“But if (Schneider) wants to stick to his guns, and I would assume he does, does it mean that Nick Emmanwori doesn’t actually participate in training camp? … It’s a fascinating situation to keep an eye on heading into next week.”
Bump and Stacy producer Curtis Rogers, who was filling in as the show’s co-host, understands both sides of the coin.
“The Seahawks don’t want to hurt themselves in Year 3 or Year 4 of this deal, if it doesn’t work out,” Rogers said. “Because I look back on some second-round picks that the Seahawks have had — it’s kind of a crapshoot in a way. I mean, you get the huge successes of DK Metcalf and (Bobby Wagner). Frank Clark was a big success. Jarran Reed, a big success. But then you also get the Malik McDowells, the Dee Eskridges. So there’s still risk in second-round picks.
“But if I’m Nick Emmanwori, I’m digging my feet in and saying, well, I want to get what they got, because I was only taken one pick behind them. There’s not a whole lot of difference between them and me, and I feel like I’m worth this.”
Listen to the full Bump and Stacy conversation at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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