The Chicago Bears rookies will arrive at Halas Hall this weekend to begin training camp but one notable player isn’t expected to join them yet. Rookie safety Jaquan Brisker has yet to sign his contract and appears to be headed for a holdout, according to The Chicago Tribune’s Dan Wiederer. Brisker is the lone member of the team’s rookie draft class who is unsigned.
Rookies and quarterbacks will begin reporting to Halas Hall on Saturday. Safety Jaquan Brisker, however, doesn’t figure to be among the early arrivals.
With contract negotiations stalled but fluid, Brisker‘s ETA to training camp remains indefinite.https://t.co/Z4Y9Z8j1FR
— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) July 22, 2022
As Wiederer reports, the two sides are likely at an impasse regarding the amount of guaranteed money in Brisker’s third year of his four-year deal. The hang up is reportedly significant enough to warrant concern that the deal won’t be signed until August at the earliest, according to Wiederer. Brisker is not allowed to practice with the team while he is unsigned.
If a contract holdout does occur, it would be the first one for the Bears since 2018 when Roquan Smith missed most of training camp, resulting in limited playing time when the regular season began. Brisker is projected as the team’s starting safety opposite Eddie Jackson when week one arrives. He was selected with the 48th overall pick in the second round out of Penn State in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Should Brisker miss camp practices, free agent acquisition Dane Cruikshank stands to start in his place. Cruikshank was signed earlier this spring after spending four seasons with the Tennessee Titans.