Done Deal for the draft picks ✍️@bryan_bresee ⚜️ @jakehaener10 pic.twitter.com/4URZ1NlXsn
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) May 16, 2023
And then there was one: the New Orleans Saints announced Tuesday that rookie quarterback Jake Haener (Fresno State) signed his first NFL contract after the team picked him in the fourth round of this year’s draft, meaning six of the Saints’ seven draft picks have signed on the dotted line and officially turned pro.
Haener signed not long after the Saints inked their first-round pick Bryan Bresee (Clemson), with four other rookies having signed before this past weekend’s minicamp practices began. The lone remaining unsigned pick is Isaiah Foskey, a second-round defensive end from Notre Dame.
What’s the holdup? The NFL’s latest collective bargaining agreements have drastically streamlined the process for drafted players to negotiate their contracts while introducing a new rookie wage scale, so there really isn’t much haggling to be done once both sides come together.
The only thing that can really be debated is what percentage of a contract may be guaranteed, with first-rounders and many players selected early in the second round getting fully-guaranteed deals. Foskey, selected at No. 40 overall, may be dealing with the same frustrations that cornerback Alontae Taylor experienced last year as New Orleans’ second-rounder Alontae Taylor (the No. 49 pick), who didn’t sign until later in the summer while going back and forth with the team about his contract details. Hopefully, the Saints can work things out with Foskey sooner than they did with Taylor, who didn’t sign until July.
