Darnold signs deal, joins Jets in camp

Sam Darnold is signed, sealed and back under center.

The New York Jets inked the rookie quarterback to a four-year, $30.25 million deal on Monday, ending the contract holdout of the NFL’s No. 3 overall draft pick.

Darnold missed the first three days of training camp practice while his representatives and the team worked out the details.

Just a few minutes after the Jets announced the signing — which includes a signing bonus of about $20 million — on social media, Darnold made his way out to the practice field with his teammates greeting him with a “Rudy”-like slow-clap. A grinning Darnold made his way to the warmup line and got a pat on the shoulder from backup quarterback Josh McCown.

Darnold, 21, is expected to compete with McCown and Teddy Bridgewater for the starting job. But he fell behind slightly with each day he was absent, and it began to look uncertain as to when an agreement between the sides would come together.

“The competition has been underway,” coach Todd Bowles said. “It just didn’t start today. It started (last) Thursday when we reported for camp. He’s got some work to catch up and do.”

More than $500 million in claims were approved as of Monday under the NFL’s concussion settlement, nearly a decade earlier than league officials estimated they would reach that amount.

Claims administrators in the settlement released an updated report on the concussion settlement information website, saying about $502 million had been approved in less than two years of the settlement. The original actuarial estimates from the NFL estimated a little more than $400 million would be paid out in the first decade.

Attorneys for the retired players adjusted their estimates on the total payout of expected claims earlier this month, saying the settlement would likely reach $1.4 billion— almost a half billion more than the NFL originally estimated.

The Cleveland Browns activated strong safety Jabrill Peppers (groin) from the non-football injury list. Peppers, a 2017 first-round draft pick who is vying with Derrick Kindred to start at strong safety, practiced on a limited basis after sitting out the first four sessions of camp.