via media.philly.com
The Eagles sent out an email today with the subject line "Will Laws, Jackson be at camp on time?"
Good question. With one week to go until rookies are due to report to Lehigh, the Eagles top two pics remain unsigned. Is this cause for concern? For now, I'll say no for one simple reason. Most teams' top picks haven't signed either. A quick glance at NFL.com shows that just 3 first round picks have signed so far and ZERO second round picks have signed as of a week ago. (Note, 2 2nd rounders have now signed)
At the time Eagles signed 3rd round pick Bryan Smith, he became just one of six 3rd picks to agree to a deal.
The point here is that there's no need to panic yet. The last thing we want is for either guy to miss a day of camp, but as soon as a few other 2nd rounders sign Jackson and Laws should fall into place. Their contracts will based on the deals of the players picked around them, so until some of those guys sign the Eagles(and all other teams) will probably have a difficult time finding out exactly where to start.
My guess is that this week we'll see a flurry of first and second round picks signing.
[Note by JasonB, 07/14/08 3:14 PM EDT ] Update thanks to jhavrk8
The Redskins broke what could be a logjam of potential unsigned second-round picks by signing wide receiver Malcolm Kelly to a four-year, $3.36 million deal.
The NFLPA notified agents Wednesday to move cautiously on first- and second-round contracts because of a Special Master hearing scheduled for next week involving how to guarantee one-time bonuses with no collective bargaining agreement in 2011. The Redskins were concerned their three second-rounders, including Kelly, could be late for training camp because a decision might come after the team's opening of training camp on July 19.