Devon Witherspoon Only Pick from 2023 NFL Draft Still Unsigned

This year's No. 5 overall pick won't be on the field when the Seahawks begin training camp.
Kirby Lee - USA TODAY Sports
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The 2023 NFL Draft saw 259 of the best college football players in the nation selected across all seven rounds, and so far, 258 of them have signed their rookie contracts.

The lone straggler is Seattle Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon, the No. 5 overall pick out of Illinois, who was the first player selected at his position in this year's class.

As Witherspoon and his representatives continues to hammer out the details of his rookie deal with the Seahawks' decision-makers, he's not expected to be on the field when the Seahawks kick off training camp in preparation for the upcoming season, per ESPN's Adam Schefter:

The current collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the NFLPA includes a rookie wage scale that usually makes these discussions much more straightforward than they had been in the past, but that doesn't mean situations like these can't pop up from time to time.

While all parties would obviously prefer to have ironed this out in time for Witherspoon to join his teammates for the start of training camp, it shouldn't be too much longer before the two sides come to an agreement.


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Luke Easterling
LUKE EASTERLING

Luke Easterling (he/him) has been covering college football and the NFL for more than two decades, with a particular focus on the nexus of both, the NFL Draft. Writing for some of the largest and most recognizable brands in sports media, Luke's experience and expertise in evaluating potential NFL prospects and evaluating team needs/fits has earned the appreciation of his readers, and the respect of his peers. Luke cut his sports journalism teeth at The Tampa Tribune before spending two years at Bleacher Report as a featured columnist covering the NFL Draft and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Luke then spent nearly seven years at USA TODAY Sports Media Group as editor of Draft Wire and Bucs Wire, building both into authoritative destination sites for their respective audiences. Now at The Arena Group, Luke covers the NFL and college football for Athlon Sports, and runs Sports Illustrated's FanNation site for the NFL Draft. A graduate of the University of South Florida, Luke has been a featured guest on ESPN Radio, CBS Sports Radio, Fox Sports Radio, SiriusXM and more.  Based in Tampa, Florida (the true home of the Cuban sandwich), Luke plays the drums, loves 2000s pop-punk, watches way too many British murder mystery shows, and channels the energy of his deep-south Grammy and his full-Italian Nana in the kitchen. Twitter: @lukeeasterling Email: luke.easterling@si.com