NEWSLETTER
Rookies will make their way to Halas Hall TOMORROW to report for training camp. And while training camp opening gives me the warm and fuzzies this time of year, that the Chicago Bears could be without one of their top picks as the doors open in Lake Forest has me bugging.
That’s because reporting from the Chicago Tribune’s Dan Wiederer makes it seem as if we shouldn’t expect Jaquan Brisker to be among the rookies showing up early to Halas Hall:
Brisker, the Bears’ second second-round selection in last April’s NFL Draft, is the team’s only pick who has yet to sign his rookie deal. Wiederer reports the belief is what is holding up the deal is how much guaranteed money he’ll get in Year 3. Sigh. We were afraid of this possibility when discussing it earlier in the week. It’s just now that Wiederer’s reporting essentially confirms this being the snag keeping Brisker out of camp. That’s a bummer to see something that feels so small and trivial standing in the way of a prized prospect popping into camp on time.
Is a Brisker holdout the worst thing to happen to the Bears this offseason? Nah. Even still … this isn’t a good look. It is not a good thing that a second-round pick is a day away from his training camp report date without a contract. This feels like something that should’ve been locked in a while ago, but Brisker wasn’t alone in being a second-round pick entering July without a rookie deal. At least Wiederer describes the negotiations as being “stalled but fluid” — which suggests that a deal *COULD* still get done ahead of camp. So, let’s not go to that dark place just yet! These things can be ornery, but I’m holding out hope for the best case scenario to play out.
Hopefully, Brisker and the Bears can clear whatever financial hurdles keeping him from reporting. The last thing this Bears defense needs is a new-look secondary lagging because not everyone is in camp on time.
Besides, we want to see this guy in action. His story is too good to have a rookie contract holdout as a significant subplot:
