Why is Texas Longhorns' Alfred Collins Still Unsigned?

More than two months have passed since the 2025 NFL Draft, yet former Texas Longhorns defensive tackle Alfred Collins still hasn't signed his rookie contract with the San Francisco 49ers.

San Francisco selected Collins, who patiently waited until his fifth and final season to become a full-time starter for the Longhorns, in the second round with the No. 50 overall pick. The second-team All-American should now help a 49ers defensive line that has lost a lot of talent over the past couple of years, but of course, they need to get him under contract first. He's the only 49ers draft pick who's yet to sign on, per Grant Cohn of San Francisco 49ers On SI.

As it turns out, the 49ers are far from the only team facing this very issue.

Alfred Collins One of Many Second-Round Picks Still Unsigned

Of the 32 second-round picks in this year's draft, 30 of them still haven't signed their rookie contracts. The only two that have are Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesigner, the No. 33 overall pick from UCLA, and Houston Texans wide receiver Jayden Higgins, the No. 34 pick from Iowa State. Of course, those two are the top picks of the second round.

For comparison, only three total players selected in the other six rounds of the draft have yet to sign their rookie deals. Two of them were taken in the first round (one being former Longhorns defensive back Jahdae Barron) while the third was taken in the fourth round.

It's one thing to point out a trend, but it's another thing to understand it. To do so, one must look at the two deals that have been signed.

On May 8, Higgins became the first second-round pick in NFL history to sign a fully guaranteed rookie deal. Schweisinger followed suit with a fully guaranteed deal of his own just one day later. Now, every other second-round pick is looking for their own fully guaranteed deals, and of course, teams are hesitant to make that commitment.

This isn't the first time that second-round picks have been vocal about wanting these deals, but Higgins and Schweisinger actually signing them definitely opened the floodgates.

So, Collins now finds himself in a standoff with the 49ers, just as many of his fellow rookies do with their teams. The 49ers may cave if other teams start handing out fully guaranteed deals, but if not, this standoff could extend into training camp. Either way, both sides likely want this situation resolved as soon as possible.