As rookies report for training camp across the NFL, teams are dealing with the issue of the majority of second-round picks not having signed their contracts. Jayden Higgins of the Houston Texans signed a fully-guaranteed four-year deal, an unprecedented situation for a second-round pick, which has caused a logjam among players picked in that particular round.
And that has left the Denver Broncos in a tough situation with running back RJ Harvey, who is expected to be a major part of the team's offense in 2025.
Harvey was the 60th overall pick in the draft, so he's far down the list of players yet to be signed as agents typically wait for the guys picked before their players to make sure they aren't getting short-changed. That may have taken a dramatic turn in favor of the teams and players recently, thanks to the San Francisco 49ers.
49ers might have just paved the way for the Broncos to sign RB RJ Harvey
The next big domino in the second round has fallen: 49ers’ second-round pick Alfred Collins, the No. 43rd overall selection, reached agreement tonight on a four-year, $10.3 million deal that includes over $9 million guaranteed and now is expected to trigger multiple second-round… pic.twitter.com/iiIWgOCh7p
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 17, 2025
Denver Broncos rookies were scheduled to report for training camp on Wednesday, but under the CBA, Harvey is not allowed to do any work on the field if he doesn't have his contract signed. The 49ers getting second-round pick Alfred Collins signed to his four-year deal with $9 million of his $10.3 million total guaranteed.
As ESPN's Adam Schefter reports, the deal for Collins should trigger a bunch of other second-round deals around the league, and you can only hope that one of them is the Denver Broncos. While veterans won't report for Broncos training camp until July 22, the team would obviously prefer to have its entire rookie class under contract.
The team only recently got a deal done with 1st-round pick Jahdae Barron, whose signing bonus of nearly $9.8 million was an increase of more than $2 million from last year's 20th overall pick, Troy Fautanu.
Rookies across the league are getting more guaranteed money and more money up front than ever before, which is a new hurdle for teams to clear. Rookie contracts are pretty straightforward under the league's CBA but there is obviously language within each deal that is negotiable, such as signing bonus, cash in year one, and percentage of the contract that's fully guaranteed.
We're seeing players test uncharted waters this offseason and everyone else is having to respond to that. Now that the 49ers have Alfred Collins under contract, perhaps there will be a domino effect all around the NFL.