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The Indianapolis Colts tonight signed three of their draft picks, as they signed second round cornerback Quincy Wilson, fifth round cornerback Nate Hairston, and fifth round linebacker Anthony Walker.
Here’s the expected contract for the three of them, as projected by our own Andrew Aziz:
Quincy Wilson: 4 years, $5,533,522 with a $2,125,252 (38.4%) signing bonus — $1,006,095 cap hit
Nate Hairston: 4 years, $2,715,840 with a $258,335 (9.5%) signing bonus — $536,629 cap hit
Anthony Walker: 4 years, $2,712,624 with a $255,282 (9.4%) signing bonus — $532,812 cap hit
There’s not much negotiation that goes into these rookie deals anymore since the rookie wage scale came about with the new CBA, so we typically see rookies signed well before training camp. The rookie wage scale eliminates much of the delay in signing.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that the three of them have been signed, nor should it be a surprise if we see most (if not all) of the others signed this weekend. The rookies will be in town this weekend for the team’s rookie mini-camp, which is a perfect and logical time for the signings to occur.
It is expected that Quincy Wilson will be the team’s starting cornerback opposite of Vontae Davis, and he’s a young guy with good size and abilities with a lot of potential. The cornerback position was a huge need for the Colts entering the draft, so not only did they grab Wilson in the second round but they also selected Nate Hairston out of Temple in the fifth round. He’s more of a developmental guy, but he’s also a guy with some upside too. And Anthony Walker could be the wild-card of the draft, as with how wide open things are at inside linebacker he should have a chance to compete for playing time right away too.