Jaquan Brisker will holdout from the beginning of Chicago Bears training camp. The key addition to the Bears secondary still has not signed his rookie deal. According to Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun Times, the issue is the amount of guaranteed money in the 3rd year of the contract. The four year total of the contract will be around seven million dollars. As part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL and NFLPA all rookie contracts have a cap.
The issue is that on average only around 50% of a rookie’s contract is guaranteed. Defensive Back Jalen Pitre, the 37th pick made by the Texans in the 2022 NFL Draft, has 78% of his contract guaranteed. This is playing heavily into Brisker’s decision to hold out for more. The two sides appear far apart. Training camp for rookies starts on July 23rd. The Bears have signed all of their 2022 draft picks except for Brisker. This means, Brisker is the only draft pick who will not be in attendance at the start of training camp. The expectation is that an agreement between Brisker and the Bears won’t happen until August.
The Chicago Bears are no strangers to rookie holdouts. Roquan Smith held out for 29 days in 2018. Time will tell if Brisker’s holdout will effect his play. Missing crucial practice snaps and chemistry building time with teammates isn’t good. Dane Cruikshank, a free agent signing with the Bears, will fill in opposite Eddie Jackson while Brisker holds out. Injury risk is also a concern. Roquan Smith injured himself when he ended his holdout. Smith recovered, and by any metric his holdout didn’t have long term negative effects on his career. The Chicago Bears and Jaquan Brisker hope the same is true in this case as well.
