San Francisco 49ers guard Joshua Garnett remains as one of only four 2016 first-round selections that remains unsigned by their teams, reports Pro Football Talk. The others are San Diego Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa, New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee, and Houston Texans wide receiver Will Fuller.
Obviously this is not something to greatly worry about, as rookie holdouts are now rare thanks to the 2011 CBA. All rookie contracts are now for a length of four years with teams having an option to pick up a fifth year option for each of their first-round selections. Having set numbers for each spot eliminates the need to negotiate salary and only leaves items like bonus payment terms, roster bonus allocations, and other miscellaneous structural items, which is what Pro Football Talk believes is holding up Garnett's deal.
"Garnett lands at the spot in round one where partial guarantees for the fourth year give way to workout and training camp roster bonuses. Garnett may be pushing to get more guaranteed money in 2019," says Mike Florio.
It is unlikely that any of these players remained unsigned prior to the start of training camp in July. The 49ers traded back into the first round to select Garnett out of Stanford with the 28th overall selection. Garnett was the 2015 John Outland Trophy Winner, an award given to the most outstanding interior lineman of the year.
While Garnett is one of four first-round selections unsigned, he is also one of two 49ers rookies that remains unsigned. The other is cornerback Will Redmond.
Redmond suffered an ACL tear during a Mississippi State practice on October 22, continuing a trend by 49ers general manager Trent Baalke of selecting injured players. However, when speaking to reporters following being drafted, Redmond stated, "I expect to play in 2016," and Baalke said that he is comfortable that the cornerback will be ready in time for the team's training camp.
Redmond could be one of the 49ers' most intriguing selections if he gets completely healthy enough to contribute this season. "In the midst of injury row, Will Redmond saw his final season torpedoed by injury after seven games when he tore his ACL. By that point he had allowed just one touchdown and a passer rating of only 41.0 when targeted by opposing quarterbacks," said Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus.
Both players have taken part in the 49ers' offseason program. Although, Redmond has been limited as he recovers from his injury and Garnett had to miss the early portions of the offseason program due to NFL rules that prohibit rookies from participating in offseason work until their school's senior class has finished their terms.
Below are the projected contracts for each of the two unsigned 49ers rookies, per salary cap site Spotrac.com.
OG Joshua Garnett, Stanford
Round 1, Pick 28
Total Value: $9,304,311
Signing Bonus: $4,966,772
2016 Cap: $1,691,693
Round 3, Pick 5
Total Value: $3,510,401
Signing Bonus: $872,555
2016 Cap: $668,139
