Titans trade saved them from being under a national spotlight for uncomfortable reasons, is the reason why one rookie won’t sign originally appeared on A to Z Sports.
The Tennessee Titans have signed 8 of their 9 draft picks ahead of the 2025 season. The last player left to sign is their 2nd rounder, EDGE Femi Oladejo. And he’s not randomly the last to come to the table; he and his representation are intentionally taking their time. That decision, however, has nothing to do with him specifically or some kind of unique, difficult contract wish. In fact, it has everything to do with a holdup at pick 35; the selection the Titans had—and would be in the thick of a standoff over—had they not traded back with the Seahawks on that Friday in April. Here’s the breakdown on what’s happening with this year’s entire class of 2nd round picks:
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The Slow Creep Of Guaranteed Contracts
By this point in the calendar last year, all of the 2024 2nd Round had signed their contracts. As for the 2025 class right now, over 220 of the 257 total selections have signed. The vast majority of those left to be signed—30 of them, to be exact—are from Round 2.
So what gives? And who are the two players from the 2nd Round who’ve signed already?
That would be 33rd overall pick Jayden Higgins, and the 34th overall pick Carson Schwesinger. See, back on May 8th, the Titans’ AFC South rival Houston Texans handed Higgins an unprecedented fully guaranteed contract right before rookie minicamp. He became the first 2nd rounder in league history to get 100% of his rookie contract guaranteed. The Browns followed suit with Schwesinger shortly thereafter, fully guaranteeing his contract too.
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By now, I’m sure you can see where the holdup is stemming from. Up next in this draft-order line is Nick Emmanwori, the safety Seattle trade up to 35 with the Titans to secure. And while we don’t officially know the details of negotiation specifics for any of these guys, it doesn’t take a genius to realize he’s asking which dotted line he needs to sign for his fully guaranteed contract. And Seattle, naturally, would like to stem the bleeding down the draft board right here before things get out of hand (or at least, out of hand from the teams’ perspectives).
And that’s why all 29 players taken in the 2nd behind Emmanwori are also patiently waiting to see what happens, in order to maximize their leverage at what is otherwise a low-leverage rookie negotiating table. Is every one of them going to come away with fully guaranteed contracts? Certainly not. But as training camp rapidly approaches, the pressure to get guys signed is rising.
Things have been trending in this direction for years. It wasn’t long ago that 1st rounders couldn’t dream of a fully guaranteed contract. Today, it’s basically an expectation. In 2024, Ladd McConkey got close to breaking through in this way. The first 3 years on his contract are guaranteed in full, and 62.5% of his final year is as well.
So when will the Titans finally sign their guy?
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Don’t Fret Over Femi
It may look like Titans EDGE Femi Oladejo is a ways away from putting pen to paper, since the roll of signings is stuck at pick 35 and he was pick 52. But with Training Camp coming up, it’s likely that this dam will burst and we’ll see a flurry of signings in a hurry. All it will take is the first player to accept less than 100% guaranteed, and others will come to the table.
As for Femi, nothing about the way that he’s conducted himself indicates he’s going to become some kind of headache over this. Even his agency represents Jackson Slater, the Titans 5th round pick who signed without trouble. They appear to be merely falling in line and supporting the rest of the 2nd round to collectively maximize their leverage.
Femi has been present, vocal, and active for much of the offseason program so far. He has also been seen on social media participating in team-organized rookie extracurriculars and charitable activities around town. Despite the holdup, I don’t see any reason to worry about him being ready to roll for his rookie season.
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This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Jul 4, 2025, where it first appeared.