The Carolina Panthers signed their first-round draft pick Derrick Brown in early May to a four-year, $23.6 million deal that’s fully guaranteed. As of the middle of June, Brown is still the only Carolina draft pick who has signed this year.
What gives? As with so many other things right now, the 2020 draft class is being affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Unless they are rehabbing from an injury, players are still not allowed inside team facilities. While coaches have the green light, Matt Rhule has not yet gotten in the building since the NFL shut things down back in March.
Pretty much every other team is in the same boat. So far, only three first-round picks have been signed. The others are Tua Tagovailoa and Austin Jackson of the Dolphins. According to Albert Breer at Sports Illustrated, only 60 of this year’s 255 picks have been signed in total.
Rhule told reporters a few weeks ago that he believes training camp will begin around July 28. We should see a flurry of picks signing their rookie deals around then.
