Will the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' second-round pick participate in training camp?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed every member of their 2025 draft class, save for one.

The Bucs drafted Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison with the 53rd overall pick, and he'll be expected to serve as strong depth in his first year with the Bucs in the event of an injury to Jamel Dean or Zyon McCollum or, if he has a strong camp and preseason, a potential contender for their jobs. Morrison had excellent ball production at Notre Dame, netting nine interceptions in 31 games for the Fighting Irish, and if he's able to recover from a hip surgery he underwent last year, he could be a big contributor in Tampa Bay.

There's just one problem — he hasn't signed his contract. Morrison remains the only unsigned Buccaneer, but he also isn't alone in the league, as 30 of the NFL's 32 second-round picks have yet to sign their contracts, either. But what's the reason for that? And will it prevent Morrison from showing up to training camp and getting some work in ahead of preseason?

Will Benjamin Morrison participate in training camp?

As it stands, no — and it's not just because he wouldn't want to, it's because he's not allowed to.

Per the NFL CBA, you can only show up to training camp once you've signed a contract. Morrison, like his peers, has not, so he wouldn't be able to practice even if he wanted to. But why are he and so many other picks not signing, and thus in danger of missing out on training camp themselves?

The answer has to do with guaranteed money. The first two picks of the second round — Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger and Houston Texans wideout Jayden Higgins — both signed their contracts for fully guaranteed money, which has never happened before in the history of the NFL. Because they both did that, every other second-round pick is holding out for the chance that they will get a fully guaranteed contract, too, and each of them are essentially playing chicken with each other to see who the first one to crack is. If another player gets a fully guaranteed deal, that could be beneficial for the rest of them, but the first player to cave could doom the rest to the standard non-typical contracts.

As a result, Morrison will have to wait until another team caves (if he isn't the first player to cave himself). As it stands, it's unlikely that he'll get any fully guaranteed money, as the player picked in his spot last year, Washington Commanders TE Ben Sinnott, only got $4,597,851 total guaranteed from his $7,227,950 total.

Morrison, as a result, will likely show up to training camp once all or a good portion of 2025's second-round picks. That could end up being before training camp, which would be good for all involved, but as it stands, he won't be arriving when the team's rookies report to Training Camp on July 21.

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