There will be no drama surrounding the signing of Chicago Bears first-round pick Darnell Wright.
No camp holdout. And no playing the waiting game.
Wright was one of three Bears draft picks who signed their rookie deals, the team announced on Monday.
Joining Wright in signing on the dotted line on Monday were third-round defensive tackle Zacch Pickens and fourth-round receiver Tyler Scott. Wright’s deal will be a four-year pact that comes with a fifth-year option, which is par for the course for NFL first-rounders. This is worth repeating seeing that it’s easy to forget what a rookie-deal for a first-rounder commands when your team hasn’t made one in three of the last five drafts. As for Pickens and Scott, they’ll get four-deals of their own. But picks outside of the first-round do not get fifth-year options tacked on at the end. We’ll share the financials when that news crosses the wire.
In the meantime, this is where I’d like to point out that seven of the Bears’ 10 draft picks are locked in with signed rookie deals. The lone picks who aren’t on board in a signed, sealed, and delivered capacity are second-rounders Gervon Dexter Sr. and Tyrique Stevenson, as well as fourth-rounder Roschon Johnson. Considering the sliding slot scale of rookie deals on Days 2 and 3, it should only be a matter of time. At the end of the day, it might seem like a small bit of news that these deals are getting done. However, it isn’t inconsequential. We’ve seen contract disputes, holdouts, and fine print keep rookies from signing their deals in the past. So getting past this hurdle this early in the offseason is a pleasant surprise.