Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Four draft picks officially sign contracts

Half of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2018 NFL Draft haul have officially signed their contracts the day before rookie mini-camp kicks off.

Four of the eight draft picks by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have officially signed on, inking their rookie deals on the eve of rookie mini-camp kicking off. The Buccaneers announced the signings Thursday.

Second round pick M.J. Stewart, fourth round pick Jordan Whitehead, fifth round pick Justin Watson, and sixth round pick Jack Cichy were the players who made their tenure with the Buccaneers official, leaving first rounder Vita Vea, second rounders Carlton Davis and Ronald Jones II, and third rounder Alex Cappa as the only remaining unsigned draft picks for Tampa Bay.

With the rookie wage scale implemented in the last collective bargaining agreement, it shouldn’t be long before the remaining picks are signed. There isn’t a lot of negotiating to be had between teams and agents given the amount of money each pick in each round is slated to be given in their initial deal. The kicker, of course, is the fifth-year option only available for first round picks which won’t come into play for Vea until after the 2021 season.

It was just four years ago that Jameis Winston signed his rookie deal the day after being drafted, so don’t expect too long of a delay on the others.

These four men, along with their fellow Tampa Bay Buccaneers draft classmates, will join a rookie mini-camp roster of fifty other hopefuls looking to earn a spot on the Bucs’ – or any other NFL roster – beginning Friday.

Next: Buccaneers Announce Mini-Camp Roster

It also gives the Buccaneers a chance to show off their brand new indoor training facility that will become a home – and a haven – for the Bucs during training camp, battling the Florida heat and storms that tend to have a big impact on the training camp schedule on an annual basis.