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Ahead of the opening of training camp next week, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed the contract with their first-round second pick, Travis Etienne.
NFL network insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday that the Jags had agreed to terms with Etienne, who will likely sign his four-year rookie contract today, according to sources familiar with the deal.
As with all first-round contracts, the deal includes a fifth-year squad option.
Like his first-round teammate and Clemson teammate Trevor Lawrence, Etienne’s deal didn’t include any offbeat language, and a significant portion of his signing bonus is paid up front, Rapoport added.
With the rookie pay scale, there is little to haggle agents over. Compensation and cash flow are usually the only things to negotiate, which is why recalcitrant recruits are now very rare. Not having offbeat language means that if Etienne is cut before his rookie contract ends and signs elsewhere, the second deal won’t subsidize what the Jags might owe.
The Jags clinched Etienne with the No.25 overall pick, envisioning the double-threat back as a weapon alongside James Robinson in the backfield. Etienne has spent a significant portion of his offseason learning the wide receiver role to be a versatile weapon that Jacksonville can move. With speed for days on end and a flurry as if firing from a cannon, Etienne should be an explosive playmaker in an intriguing Jaguars attack as a rookie.
The question is how many hits he’s going to siphon off Robinson and how many Urban Meyer plans to split him up as a receiver. These questions will be a key one to follow when the Jags open training camp next week.
Etienne accepting his rookie deal means there are only five first-round picks that have yet to sign their rookie deal. Unsurprisingly, they’re all grouped together: No.2 Pick Zach Wilson (Jets), No.3 Trey Lance (49ers), No.13 Rashawn Slater (Chargers), No.14 Alijah Vera-Tucker (Jets) ) and # 26 “Greg Newsome II” (Browns).
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