Bears rookie is expected to hold out during training camp
According to @patrickfinley, the Chicago Bears and rookie safety Jaquan Brisker are not close to a deal because they are going back and forth about the «amount of guaranteed money Brisker would receive in his third season.»
Indeed, Rookie safety Jaquan Brisker has yet to sign his contract and appears to be headed for a holdout, according to The Chicago Tribune's Dan Wiederer. Brisker is the lone member of the team's rookie draft class who is unsigned. There has been a stall in contract negotiations stemming from how much guaranteed money Brisker will get from the team in Year 3 of his deal. It seems so trivial. And you'd think it would be easy to get done. But this is the Bears, and we should know better by now. Nothing comes easy for this franchise. Not even something as seemingly simple as second-round contracts. I mean, this is mind-boggling to me. The Bears have over $57 million in dead money as of this moment. That means they are paying more than $57 million to players who won't suit up for them in 2022. If you're willing to bite down and swallow hard on that as you start your rebuild, then what's $100,000 to a player you chose in the draft to be a core piece of your secondary? Hurry up and get this deal done so we can start to develop players...
Drafted in the second round in this year's draft, Brisker is in line to be a Week 1 starter, projected to pair up with Eddie Jackson as the team's first-unit safeties. But Brisker's early growth learning curve could be delayed if he isn't able to begin practicing because of his current contract dispute. The Bears' first full-team practice is scheduled for Wednesday morning in Lake Forest.
Hopefully, both sides are able to meet halfway on a deal that will make everyone satisfied and this issue can be resolved. It's never good news when a player is holding out of training camp, especially when said player is a rookie.
