Patriots, first-round pick Cole Strange agree to deal

One of two first-rounders who had not signed their rookie contracts, Cole Strange is set to make his Patriots employment official. The rookie guard is expected to sign his deal Wednesday, InsidetheBirds.com’s Adam Caplan tweets.

Strange’s signing will leave Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett as the league’s lone unsigned first-rounder. Strange’s four-year deal will include a fifth-year option and, based on the final three first-rounders’ contractual terms, be fully guaranteed.

The Patriots drafted Strange 29th overall, and although the Tennessee-Chattanooga lineman was not expected to go in Round 1, this year’s Nos. 30-32 picks — George Karlaftis, Daxton Hill and Lewis Cine — were given fully guaranteed contracts. This has marked a progression for players chosen late in the first round. When the 2011 CBA began this era of rookie deals, late-first-round picks’ contracts were not fully guaranteed.

Strange is expected to be an immediate starter for the Pats, which saw 2021 guard starters Shaq Mason and Ted Karras depart. The Pats traded Mason to the Buccaneers for a fifth-round pick, doing so after Karras defected to the Bengals in free agency. Strange is expected to join Michael Onwenu as New England’s first-string guards.