The New England Patriots might want to take notice of what went down Thursday.
The NFL has seen an interesting phenomenon occur this offseason, as the majority of second-round picks from the 2025 NFL Draft remained unsigned as some teams started reporting to training camp.
Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger (No. 33 overall) and Houston Texans wide receiver Jayden Higgins (No. 34) were the only to players picked in the round to sign prior to Thursday — with one very obvious factor being the reason. Higgins got a fully guaranteed deal, which empowered his fellow rookies to ask for something similar, and plunged the league into chaos.
It’s not all that surprising to learn that teams aren’t eager to dish out guaranteed money, but for some reason, weeks worth of negotiations finally came to a head for a number of teams/players just before the weekend. San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Alfred Collins (No. 43), Seattle Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori (No. 35), Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Donovan Ezeiruaku (No. 44), Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Tre Harris (No. 55) — who was the class’ first official holdout, Chicago Bears offensive lineman Ozzy Trapilo (No. 56) and Denver Broncos running back RJ Harvey (No. 60) all reportedly signed Thursday.
Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson (No. 38), as you’ve probably noticed, isn’t listed among that group.
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Why?
Henderson’s agents can now point to a few examples as they continue hammering away details on his contract, as those selected in his range are getting the majority of their contracts fully guaranteed. New England likely isn’t looking to hand guaranteed money to a running back, though, and can argue the position is inherently less valuable and more susceptible to injury.
You don’t exactly want to have this be the early point of a relationship between player and organization, though, do you?
The Patriots still have a few days to try and reach an agreement, and likely are waiting on the other shoe to drop with two players that will impact their negotiations with Henderson. New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (No. 40) is a potential starter as a rookie, which gives him plenty of leverage to fight for a fully-guaranteed deal. Cleveland Browns running back Quinshon Judkins (No. 36) is quite literally the most comparable player in this entire class to Henderson, but was arrested last weekend on a domestic violence charge and likely won’t be signing his contract anytime soon.
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It’ll ultimately take one side giving in, and given how they’ve operated with player contracts recently, don’t be surprised to see it be the organization. They don’t need any more headaches.
