And Then There Was One: Andrew Booth May Soon Be the Only Unsigned Vikings Rookie

Josh Frey |

Jul 20, 2022

Oct 30, 2021; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports.

As the final week before training camp began, there were still two rookies of the Minnesota Vikings ten 2022 NFL Draft selections that remained unsigned: their second-round picks G Ed Ingram and CB Andrew Booth. That is, until Tuesday afternoon when Chris Tomasson reported that Ingram is expected to sign his four-year deal prior to rookie report day on Sunday. The contract will be worth about $6 million; a steal of a deal if he lives up to his starting potential.

The #Vikings have signed eight of their 10 draft picks and second-round pick guard Ed Ingram in now expected to sign and report to training camp on time. Remaining unsigned at this point is second-round pick cornerback Andrew Booth Jr.
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) July 19, 2022

That means the only rookie from the 2022 Vikings draft class yet to sign a deal is CB Andrew Booth. He is now four days away from being classified as a holdout; something the Vikings would obviously like to avoid. Booth participated in the spring’s minicamp under an injury protection agreement as he continued to recover from both core and quad injuries.

Don’t get too worried about the young corner yet though, Vikings fans. Especially among the second rounders, it seems that rookie contracts are taking a long time to get sorted out across the league. After Ingram signs his deal, there will still be eight of the 32 selections from the second round left unsigned, including two other NFC North prospects. Here’s the full list:

DL Logan Hall, No. 33, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
WR Christian Watson, No. 34, Green Bay Packers
CB Roger McCreary, No. 35, Tennessee Titans
DE Boye Mafe, No. 40, Seattle Seahawks
RB Kenneth Walker III, No. 41, Seattle Seahawks
CB Andrew Booth, No. 42, Minnesota Vikings
EDGE David Ojabo, No. 45, Baltimore Ravens
S Jaquan Brisker, No. 48, Chicago Bears

Other notable rookies that have not signed their contracts yet include QBs Matt Corral and Malik Willis. Now, this humble writer couldn’t tell you why it’s such a theme among the second rounders to wait so close to training camp to sign a contract. Ultimately though, these “contract disputes”, if you can even call them that, usually get sorted out before they become an issue. Hopefully the situation with Booth is resolved soon, so we can watch him show off his skills on the field.

Vikings training camp officially begins on July 24th with the rookies reporting to camp. The first practice open to the public takes place on July 30th.