The one thing you simply cannot have with a rookie quarterback in today’s NFL is a contract dispute. Fortunately for the Denver Broncos, that isn’t anywhere on the radar as Bo Nix signed his rookie contract with the team over a month ago. That’s not the case for Minnesota Vikings first-round pick JJ McCarthy and Chicago Bears first-round pick Caleb Williams, who remain unsigned as of the time of this post being written.
As of the time of this post being written, rookies report for Denver Broncos training camp in less than two days.
Minnesota Vikings rookies don’t report to training camp until July 21, a handful of days after Broncos rookies report on July 17. Even with that in mind, the fact that McCarthy hasn’t signed his rookie deal yet is a little odd, to say the least. There are actually still five first-round picks that have yet to sign their deals right now, including both Vikings first-round picks (Dallas Turner being the other), both Bears first-round picks (Williams and Rome Odunze) as well as Cincinnati Bengals first-round pick Amarius Mims.
Sporting News writer Tyler Forness talked about why it might be time for the Vikings to be at least a little bit concerned about McCarthy not having signed his deal just yet:
– Tyler Forness
As we know, deadlines can spark action when it comes to professional sports, and the Vikings still have time before the unofficial “deadline” of rookies reporting. The same is true for the Chicago Bears. But for this to be an issue for a first-round quarterback is not good news for Vikings fans, and it’s another reason Broncos fans should be feeling really good about Bo Nix.
Nix was selected just two picks after JJ McCarthy. The overall construction of their contracts and offset languages along with guarantees are not all that different. Especially given the fact that quarterbacks sandwiched McCarthy in this year’s draft (Michael Penix, Bo Nix), it should be even more straightforward for the Vikings to figure out.
There will not be any contract distraction for Bo Nix when it comes to Denver Broncos training camp. There’s not even going to be any talk of it. Meanwhile, the Vikings sort of find themselves in a really tough situation overall. It sounds like the plan for them all along has been for Sam Darnold to play, but JJ McCarthy is going to need as many on-field reps as he can possibly get. Beyond that, the status of second-year receiver Jordan Addison is up in the air as he was arrested on suspicion of DUI last week.
JJ McCarthy isn’t doing anything unprecedented, even with a rookie wage scale, but considering his opportunity and situation, a contract dispute is really the last thing the Vikings want to see for their rookie quarterback going into training camp.
Again, for the Denver Broncos, this is thankfully not even a discussion. Although we don’t know when Bo Nix is going to be named the starter of this team, there’s a clear vision in place from head coach Sean Payton and the team is on the same page with its first-round quarterback.
