It took longer into the offseason than expected, but the Saints have officially signed Alontae Taylor to his rookie deal.
The 2nd-round pick pick out of Tennessee was the lone rookie remaining unsigned, with Trevor Penning, Chris Olave, D'Marco Jackson and Justin Jackson having already signed their contracts.
Despite being unsigned, Taylor was a full participant at rookie minicamp, all three OTA sessions and mandatory minicamp. With a constant presence and no apparent issues between sides, the lack of a contract never really raised alarms. The deal was signed on the day rookies officially reported for camp, with veterans set to join on July 19.
Taylor was far from alone on his contract day. Entering the week there were 19 players -- each from Rounds 2-4 of the draft -- still remaining unsigned. In the NFC South that included Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder, who agreed to a contract just a matter of minutes before Taylor, and Panthers QB Matt Corral, who hadn't signed his contract as of noon. The Bucs still had not signed rookie TE Cade Otton or DE Logan Hall.
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The date is significant, considering it's the first day back in town for Taylor and the other Saints rookies. It's likely that Otton, Hall and Corral handle their contracts when their teams report to camp on July 26. The Saints' first camp practice is scheduled for July 27.