Stroud & Richardson Agree To Rookie Deals

   Rookie quarterbacks CJ Stroud and Anthony Richardson reached agreements on their rookie deals with the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts this weekend, as per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.

   Both deals came just a day before the Texans and Colts reported for the first day of training camp on Tuesday.

   Fourth overall pick Anthony Richardson and the Colts agreed to a four-year, fully guaranteed $33.99 million contract. The deal includes a $21.72 million signing bonus paid fully upfront, as per NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. Richardson’s deal was negotiated by his agent Deiric Jackson.

   Stroud, picked second overall by the Texans, agreed to terms on a four-year, fully guaranteed $36.3 million deal. The new contract sees the former Ohio State quarterback earn $23.38 million in signing bonuses and much  like Richardson’s deal, Stroud’s signing bonus is also fully paid upfront.

   A two-year starter for the Buckeyes and a back-to-back Heisman Trophy finalist, Stroud is well versed in pressure and isn’t new to the public eye. The California native has been a starter since he was a freshman at Ohio State and could be thrown into the fire right away in Houston.

   The 6-foot-3, 218-pound quarterback is expected to take over the starting job from the incumbent Davis Mills, 24, who struggled as the starter over the past two seasons. Mills went 5-22-1 in 28 games, including 26 starts but General Manager Nick Caserio insisted last month that he could still see the starting position up for grabs. Both Stroud and Mills will enter training camp competing for the starting job.

   The Colts, on the other hand, are expected to take their time with Richardson, and should give him more than enough reps with his teammates in practice and preseason. Expected to start at some point during the season, Richardson came into the draft as the rawest of the top five quarterback prospects. The former Florida gator had only started 13 games in his college career but posted good enough numbers to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft this year.

   The 21-year-old has the highest upside of all the rookie quarterbacks and could be a home run pick for Indianapolis if the Colts can develop and sharpen his game for the pro level. With an impressive performance at the NFL combine in which Richardson posted the fastest 40-yard dash time (4.43 seconds), best vertical jump (40.5 inches) and best broad jump (10 feet 9 inches) among quarterbacks, the Miami native could certainly be a unicorn at the position if his measurables translate to in-game performances.

   While most people like Gardner Minshew to start in Week 1 against his former team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Colts fans will be itching to see Richardson take the field this season. A big, dual-threat type of quarterback with a cannon for an arm, the fourth-overall pick could be the answer the Colts have been looking for since the surprise retirement of Andrew Luck in 2019.

   Not one to shy away from pressure, just like in his college career, Richardson will look to exceed all expectations when the Colts take to the field this year.

   With both Richardson and Stroud having agreed to their rookie deals on Monday, only Seattle’s fifth-overall pick, Devon Witherspoon remains unsigned among this year’s first-round draft picks. The Seahawks, like the Texans and the Colts, reported to training camp on Tuesday.

   The first of two 1st round selections for Seattle, Witherspoon has thus far no-showed at training camp this week, as he remains without a contract. The Seahawks hoped to pair him across fellow DB Tariq Woolen to create a formidable shutdown duo, but fans will have to wait just a little bit longer before they see that secondary pairing together.

  Despite his absence, head coach Pete Carroll reamined unphased.  “He’s not here today,” Carroll told reporters Wednesday. “He knows everything he needs to know. I can’t imagine he won’t be here very soon.”

   Witherspoon isn’t just the lone 1st round hold out, but the lone 2023 draftee who isn’t under contract. All other 258 selections from this spring’s draft have been signed.

-Maher Abucheri

Twitter: @pabloikonyero

Photo: FanDuel. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

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