We are officially in mandatory minicamp territory, and that means a few high-profile players have officially become NFL holdouts. Who are the players choosing not to participate?
Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley Some of the High Profile NFL Holdouts
As the sun rises in the United States on this not-so-random Tuesday, there appears to be only three legitimate holdouts, three players who have refused to sign the franchise tender, and one who very conveniently missed a flight.
We may have had another extremely high-profile holdout in New York, but Robert Saleh decided to cancel mandatory minicamp, so we’ll never get the satisfaction and closure we so deserve regarding Quinnen Williams. However, Saleh is convinced a deal will get done with one of the league’s best young interior defenders.
“I speak for everyone — I probably speak for Quinnen — in that we all want to get done sooner rather than later,” Saleh said. “I’ll let the business guys handle all that stuff, but it’s going to get done. He’ll be here for camp. He’ll be ready to roll, and once he is, I’m sure it’ll be the same guy who was here.”
DT Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs
A Chris Jones holdout from mandatory minicamp isn’t necessarily something for Chiefs fans to worry about just yet. Jones and the Chiefs need to work out a long-term deal this summer, or Jones could end up being a franchise tag candidate next season. At 29 years old, the All-Pro defensive tackle should be looking for one last massive payday from Kansas City.
WR Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills
Stefon Diggs signed a four-year extension that doesn’t even go into effect starting in 2024. He’ll make $24 million in cash this season, but he’s not at the Buffalo Bills’ first day of mandatory minicamp, and Bills’ coach Sean McDermott told media that he’s “very concerned” about it.
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Maybe Diggs just wants to hit the beach and is willing to take the fine. But this seemed like a surprise for the team, which makes it an even more peculiar situation.
DE Danielle Hunter, Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings moved up a large chunk of cash from last year, meaning Danielle Hunter only receives $5.5 million in 2023. The team has shed the contracts of many of their more expensive veterans, and Hunter is looking for a contract extension to secure his future earnings.
DT Lawrence Guy, New England Patriots
Lawrence Guy’s base salary in 2023 is only $2 million. Guy has been the anchor of a consistently good Patriots’ defense since 2017. This year marks his 14th NFL season, and he remains one of the more consistent run-defending defensive tackles in the league.
C Connor Williams, Miami Dolphins
After spending years as the starting left guard for the Dallas Cowboys, Connor Williams found himself a new home playing center for the Miami Dolphins. And, low and behold, he was pretty good at it. But being guaranteed only $2 million in 2023 on an expiring contract isn’t something a 26-year-old who just broke out at a new position wants to look at.
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“I try to understand every player’s perspective,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tuesday. “I think part of my job is to be empathetic to [players], to best come to a solution. So, there’s a bunch of things that come up, a bunch of stuff that have come up this offseason, that came up last offseason, that will come up next offseason. So that’s always something that you’re juggling with a couple players.”
RB Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
Saquon Barkley, along with Raiders RB Josh Jacobs and Jaguars TE Evan Engram, aren’t actually holdouts because they’re not technically under contract. Each player was franchise tagged by their respective teams, and each opted not to sign the tender in hopes of securing a long-term deal. Because of that, they’re not subject to the same fines that Guy, Hunter, and Williams are.
Barkley has suggested that sitting out the entire 2023 NFL season is an option he’s considering if he and the Giants don’t come to a solution before the July 17 deadline.
RB Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders
They wouldn’t be the Raiders if they weren’t at least a little weird. Las Vegas held its mandatory minicamp last week instead of this week. Jacobs was not in attendance, and he has since sent a cryptic message.
“Sometimes it’s not about you,” Jacobs said in a tweet on Saturday. “We gotta do it for the ones after us.”
TE Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard was the only player to sign the franchise tender this year. Engram was the only “member” of the Jaguars to skip the mandatory minicamp period, as he and his agent look to secure a long-term deal for the tight end.
The position has seen a value hit this offseason. And although it’s not to the extent of the RB position, tight ends are making less money than one would likely expect.
LT Trent Brown, New England Patriots
Trent Brown isn’t necessarily a holdout, but he was absent from the Patriots’ mandatory minicamp after his flight was reportedly canceled due to a hail storm. It’s probably just a coincidence that he’s heading into the final year of his two-year deal with New England, is their only returning starting tackle, and really is the Patriots’ only legitimately good option because of their lack of depth.
Why Do NFL Players Hold Out?
There are two main reasons why NFL players hold out. Some are late-stage veterans who simply don’t want to bake in the late-July sun at training camp and would rather go through their own training program away from the team. Those players are often financially secure enough to take the financial hit from fines for some of the time.
The other reason players hold out is because of contract disputes. This is the more common reason and why each of the players currently holding out is doing so.
What Are the Longest NFL Holdouts?
The longest holdout in NFL history is Le’Veon Bell’s holdout in 2018. But Bell is far from the only high-profile player to miss significant time in an NFL season due to a contract dispute.
Bo Jackson simply did not want to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had selected him first overall in the 1986 NFL Draft. He skipped the season, choosing to remain a Major League Baseball player before eventually playing for the Raiders, who drafted him in the seventh round of the 1987 NFL Draft.
Joey Galloway missed 101 days and eight weeks of the 1999 NFL season with Seattle.
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Emmitt Smith held out the first two weeks of the 1993 season. The Cowboys lost both games and then gave him the largest RB contract in NFL history at the time. That’s probably why they eventually caved to Ezekiel Elliott’s demands in 2019, ending his 40-day absence.
In 2010, Darrelle Revis signed an extension just before the season opener, and Larry Johnson had done the same in 2007. Additionally, Kam Chancellor missed two weeks of the 2015 NFL season as a holdout.