Only one of the 259 players taken in this year’s NFL Draft remains unsigned, and he’s a pretty important one.
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon did not report for the start of training camp, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Witherspoon, the No. 5 overall pick out of Illinois, has been unable to come to an agreement with the team on his rookie contract.
Seattle Seahawks’ CB Devon Witherspoon, the No. 5 overall pick in April’s draft, is not on the field for the start of training camp as both sides have been unable to reach a contract agreement.
Witherspoon is the final player among this year’s 259 draft picks not under contract.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 26, 2023
A consensus All-American and the first cornerback off the board in this year’s draft, Witherspoon worked through a hamstring injury earlier in the offseason to assume a spot on the Seahawks’ starting defense during June workouts.
“When we gave him the chance, he jumped right on it,” Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said at the time about Witherspoon. “He’s a really good football learner. He gets it, man. It makes sense to him, and he does things naturally really well, and that expedites the process.”
It seems likely that Witherspoon, who was named the Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year in the Big Ten in 2022, could have a shot to open the season as one of Seattle’s first-string cornerbacks, but he’s got to get to training camp in order for that to happen.
Hopefully, he and the team will have a contract signed soon.