The Buffalo Bills have officially completed their 2026 draft class, ending a lengthy wait by reaching a contract agreement with fourth-round pick Jude Bowry, the final unsigned member of their rookie group.
With Bowry now under contract, Buffalo enters training camp with its entire draft class signed and no remaining rookie contract questions hanging over the roster.
The 22-year-old offensive lineman inked a four-year rookie deal worth $5,655,756, including a $1,275,756 signing bonus that is fully guaranteed at signing, according to Spotrac. His 2026 cap hit comes in at approximately $1.2 million, with an average annual value of $1.4 million. He becomes an unrestricted free agent after the 2029 season.
“The Bills have signed fourth-round pick OL Jude Bowry,” ESPN‘s Alaina Getzenberg reported Friday. “He was the team’s last draft pick that was not yet signed.”
Bowry had participated in rookie minicamp and organized team activities throughout the spring despite remaining without a signed contract â a stretch of weeks that drew notice across league coverage. The reason for the delay was never made public. No reports pointed to a dispute over the deal’s core terms, and his consistent presence at the facility all offseason was treated as a signal that an agreement would eventually arrive.
Bills precedent exists for late-signing rookies. Second-round pick T.J. Sanders did not sign until mid-July of 2025, and Bowry’s situation drew comparisons to that pattern, a standard negotiation on specific contract language not any fundamental disagreement.
Why the Buffalo Bills Drafted Jude Bowry
Buffalo selected Bowry at No. 102 overall after swapping one spot with the Las Vegas Raiders at the top of Round 4, adding a 2027 seventh-round pick in the process. The Bills needed depth and versatility along the offensive line after losing swing tackle Ryan Van Demark to the Vikings in free agency. At 6-foot-5 and 314 pounds with 33 3/4-inch arms and testing numbers that included a 34.5-inch vertical and a 9-foot-7 broad jump, Bowry checked the athletic boxes Buffalo was targeting at the position.
He projects as a developmental piece capable of lining up at both tackle and guard, a depth profile that fits behind starters Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown.
Jude Bowry’s Path to the Draft
Bowry grew up in the Germantown, Maryland, area after being born in San Francisco, attending Northwest High School before transferring to Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore. He arrived at Boston College as the top-ranked offensive tackle prospect in Maryland, a three-star recruit who went on to play in 31 college games with 23 starts, primarily at left tackle.
His junior season in 2024 stood out with 12 starts at left tackle, only two sacks surrendered, and a 75.7 PFF pass-blocking grade. In his redshirt junior year in 2025, he served as a team captain and did not allow a sack over more than 311 pass-blocking snaps, according to draft evaluations. An invitation to the 2026 Senior Bowl followed, and he declared for the draft despite remaining eligibility.
Early assessments of Bowry’s role in Buffalo frame him as a long-term project. He currently sits behind 2025 sixth-round pick Chase Lundt and 2024 fifth-round pick Tylan Grable on the depth chart. The Bills now head to training camp with all 10 members of their 2026 draft class signed.
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