Dolphins, Buccaneers sign deals with first round draft picks
By Jason Parker
Both the Miami Dolphins (Laremy Tunsil) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Vernon Hargreaves III) have reached deals with their top picks in the 2016 Draft.
With rookie camps beginning this weekend across the NFL, players who were both picked in the 2016 NFL Draft or who went undrafted are signing deals with teams to get ready for the 2016 season. Two of the top picks in the first round are now under contracts with their new teams before they hit the field for their first practice.
In the case of the Miami Dolphins, rookies won’t be practicing at all this weekend (as new coach Adam Gase wants them to get mentally ready first) but the team still reached a deal with their first round pick, offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil:
Tunsil was expected to be one of the top picks in last week’s draft after a successful career with the Ole Miss Rebels, but saw his stock plummet after a video was released showing him smoking something out of a bong that was attached to a gas mask. Tunsil said that his account was hacked, but admitted to being the man in the video.
Based off the contracts for 2015 picks at the sports, Tunsil is expected to lose close to $7 million in salary after being picked 13th by the Dolphins (as he was projected to be picked sixth overall).
Just up the road from South Florida, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have also put pen to paper with their top pick in the draft, cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III:
It’s a homecoming for VH3, who played his high school ball in Tampa before playing his college career for the Florida Gators, where he was named to the All-SEC team each of his three seasons and was a consensus All-American in 2015.
Like all first round picks, both players signed four year contracts (money amounts for both not released at this time) with a team option for a fifth season.
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