Friday was the last day of Week 2 of OTAs for the Detroit Lions. They also got an important piece of business done, announcing second-round draft pick cornerback Ennis Rakestraw has signed his rookie contract.
Rakestraw also posted on Twitter to announce he has signed.
Pen to paper it’s Official #onepride pic.twitter.com/XWMBTK2hQP
— Ennis Rakestraw Jr (@EnnisRakestraw) May 31, 2024
Rakestraw was tied to the Lions in a lot of pre-draft buzz, and he fell to them in the second round at pick No. 61. His exact immediate role in the secondary is to be determined, but he has dabbled in the slot some already.
The venerable Greg Cosell of NFL Films pointed to Rakestraw's possible fit in the slot due to the all-around skills he has and the mentality he plays with.
"Some teams may see him more as a slot corner given his lack of desired size for the outside and his short area burst and quickness and willingness and toughness playing the run and his overall high-level competitiveness,” Cosell added. "He is more than a cover corner and might lead teams to believe slot corner is his better transition. Rakestraw has extensive experience playing both outside corner and slot corner and if teams believe his thin frame presents an issue outside then he can be deployed in the slot with the needed athletic and competitive traits to succeed there at the next level.”
Rakestraw missed the end of his final season at Missouri due to a core muscle injury. He had 35 tackles and four pass breakups over the nine games he played (eight starts), as he earned an 80.7 overall Pro Football Focus grade with a top-12 run defense grade among cornerbacks (89.0).
Over the last two seasons, Rakestraw's PFF coverage grade (85.8) was eighth-best among SEC cornerbacks.
Lions sign Ennis Rakestraw to rookie contract: Salary cap implications
The terms of Rakestraw's contract are not out yet. But we do know it'll be a four-year deal, and based on Over The Cap's projection we can get a pretty good idea for what the contract will look like.
Ennis Rakestraw rookie contract projection: 4 years, $6,484,746; $1,5356,180 signing bonus
Note: The first two year's base salaries should be fully guaranteed, bringing the total guaranteed money to about $3.2 million.
2024:
Cap number: $1,179,045 million
Base salary: $795,000
Signing bonus proration: $384,405
2025:
Cap number: $1,473,806 million
Base salary: $1,089,761 million
Signing bonus proration: $384,405
2026:
Cap number: $1,768,567 million
Base salary: $1,384,522 million
Signing bonus proration: $384,405
2027:
Cap number: $2,063,328
Base salary: $1,679,283
Signing bonus proration: $384,405
The Lions signed their four Day 3 draft picks (Giovanni Manu, Sione Vaki, Mekhi Wingo, and Christian Mahogany) earlier this month. So that leaves first-round pick Terrion Arnold as the only one unsigned from this year's draft class. But the Lions have taken their time signing high draft picks before, and as Mike Payton of AtoZ Sports reminds us Jahmyr Gibbs didn't sign until July 17 last year.