Packers sign draft picks from day three of the 2018 NFL Draft

The Green Bay Packers now have 87 members of the team’s 90-man roster under contract. On Monday, the team announced that six members of the team’s 2018 NFL Draft class had signed their rookie contracts, locking them up for the next four seasons. The team also confirmed the signings of two tryout players from the weekend’s rookie minicamp, which had been reported previously; those players are tight end Ryan Smith and linebacker Greer Martini.

The six draft picks who have signed their contracts are the six players who were drafted on the third day of the draft but had remained unsigned. Punter JK Scott and long snapper Hunter Bradley had already signed their contracts prior to the start of camp. This leaves the Packers with three picks not yet under contract: first-round pick Jaire Alexander, second-round selection Josh Jackson, and third-rounder Oren Burks.

The players’ contract estimates (based on their draft slot and published by Overthecap.com) are as follows:

• WR J’Mon Moore (#133 overall): signing bonus $452,356, 2018 cap hit $593,089
• G Cole Madison (#138): signing bonus $324,332, 2018 cap hit $561,083
• WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling (#174): signing bonus $217,556, 2018 cap hit $534,389
• WR Equanimeous St. Brown (#207): signing bonus $118,408, 2018 cap hit $509,602
• DE James Looney (#232): signing bonus $89,428, 2018 cap hit $502,357
• OLB Kendall Donnerson (#248): signing bonus $70,952, 2018 cap hit $497,738

The Packers and the rest of the NFL currently operate under the top 51 rule for the salary cap, meaning only the 51 players with the highest cap figures count against the cap for the time being. The 51st man on the roster currently has a cap hit of $550,000, meaning that only Moore and Madison will count against the cap for the time being, and the net cost against the cap for signing these players is the difference between their contracts and the $550,000 value. Using the estimates above, that comes out to just $54,172.

The Packers’ top three picks will have significantly higher cap hits, however, and will take up the bulk of the necessary effective cap space needed to sign the full rookie class. When those three players sign, that will officially fill up the Packers’ 90-man roster.