Ahead of training camp opening next week, the Jacksonville Jaguars got the contract done with their second first-round pick, Travis Etienne.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday that the Jags agreed to terms with Etienne, who will likely sign his four-year rookie contract today, per sources informed of the deal.
As with all first-round contracts, the deal includes a fifth-year team option.
Like fellow first-rounder and Clemson teammate Trevor Lawrence, Etienne's deal included no offset language, and a significant amount of his signing bonus comes upfront, Rapoport added.
With the rookie wage scale, there are few things for agents to haggle over. Offsets and cash flow are generally the only bargaining topics, which is why rookie holdouts are now very few and far between. Not having offset language means that if Etienne is cut before the end of his rookie contract and signs elsewhere, the second deal will not subsidize what the Jags might owe.
The Jags snagged Etienne with the No. 25 overall pick envisioning the dual-threat back as a weapon alongside James Robinson in the backfield. Etienne spent a significant portion of his offseason learning the wide receiver role to be a versatile weapon that Jacksonville can move around. With speed for days and a burst like he's shot out of a cannon, Etienne should be an explosive playmaker in an intriguing Jaguars offense as a rookie.
The question is how many touches he'll siphon from Robinson and how much Urban Meyer plans to split him out wide as a receiver. Those questions will be one key thing to track when the Jags open training camp next week.
Etienne agreeing to his rookie deal means there are just five first-round picks who have yet to sign their rookie deals. Unsurprisingly, they're all in clusters: No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson (Jets), No. 3 Trey Lance (49ers), No. 13 Rashawn Slater (Chargers), No. 14 Alijah Vera-Tucker (Jets), and No. 26 Greg Newsome II (Browns).
