By Mummy Grace 
The real chaos? It started with the Texans’ Jayden Higgins, who managed to land a fully guaranteed deal—the first of its kind for a second-round pick. That set off a chain reaction. Suddenly, rookies drafted just before and after him started holding out, hoping to get the same historic treatment. Among them: Saints quarterback Tyler Shough, who believes his status as a passer gives him the leverage to demand a similar deal. So far, no dice.
With each passing day, picks like Detroit’s second-round guard Tate Ratledge remain unsigned, simply because teams don’t want to cave early and create a new league-wide precedent. The holdup isn’t about money—it’s about how much of it is protected.
Meanwhile, No. 17 pick Shemar Stewart is in a standoff with the Bengals over language that would strip his future guarantees if he defaults in any single contract year. He’s not budging, and neither are they.
So now, the league sits at a crossroads. Will a team like New Orleans blink first and give Shough the deal he wants? Or will Cincinnati break through with Stewart and shift the leverage back to the franchises?
Until one of those dominoes falls, we’re looking at a rare summer slowdown—one that’s holding up rosters, rookies, and entire depth charts across the league.