On the eve of the first practice of training camp for the Jets, New York's top pick and new franchise centerpiece, Zach Wilson, has yet to sign his rookie contract. Of course, this doesn't have anything to do with the quarterback's compensation as there's been a slotted salary system put in place for rookie deals based on draft position for years. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, some of the roadblocks in getting this deal done include cash flow and offset language.
New York is looking to defer millions of Wilson's signing bonus to 2022. Typically, top picks get paid that signing bonus a bit more promptly. For instance, Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow were paid their signing bonuses within 15 days of signing their deals. The last two No. 2 overall picks (Chase Young and Nick Bosa) were paid within 30 days of executing their rookie deals. Meanwhile, the offset language snag largely revolves around ensuring Wilson's guaranteed money is truly guaranteed, per Florio.
"With regards to Zach, obviously Joe's working on it here this morning and hopefully that gets done," head coach Robert Saleh told reporters Tuesday, via NFL.com. "But as it is with every player on this roster, when one person misses, another person has to take over those reps, so it's a challenge just in terms of trying to maintain the wear and tear on all these individual players.
"But for the individual, that's where the challenge becomes in terms of making up those reps. Everybody knows how important it is to me and our team with regards to reps and practice and process, and every moment you miss from that process, it becomes a challenge from an individual standpoint. But as a team, we're in good shape, the installs are in good shape and we're ready to roll."
While it wouldn't be ideal, Wilson wouldn't be the first Jets quarterback to miss some training camp practices due to this type of issue. Back in 2018, Sam Darnold also missed some time as he hammered out his rookie contract with New York.
If Wilson is unable to get his deal done in time for the start of Wednesday's practice, the Jets will have James Morgan and Mike White as the only two quarterbacks on the roster.