Rookies and selected veterans are due to report today on this, the first day of Eagles training camp at Lehigh University. First round pick Jeremy Maclin, has not been not among them.
Maclin has not yet signed a contract with the team and therefore will not/can not report for camp. The first practice isn't until tomorrow morning and Maclin could be on the field if he signs a deal before then, but if not he'll begin to fall more and more behind with every missed session. Andy Reid had this to say about Maclin.
"I think it's important for the rookies to be here on time," Reid said. "Any day you miss puts you behind.
"Jeremy was just getting used to this offense (at the end of the minicamps). He worked with Donovan (McNabb) in Arizona. I still think he need extensive work from a team perspective."
Reid said DeSean Jackson benefitted greatly from being in camp on time a year ago.
Reid also said that talks between the team and Maclin's agent are still ongoing.
More after the jump
It should be noted that the Eagles start camp earlier than all but a handful of teams in the NFL. At this point, just 3 first round picks and 11 second round picks have signed a contract. One has to wonder whether the Eagles' early camp makes it tough to get their top picks signed? When most of the picks around a certain draft slot are signed, it becomes fairly elementary what that player should make. However, with so few first round picks signed at this point the two sides(player & team) really only have last year's first round contracts to go off of. With only the final pick, first overall pick, and 5th pick in the first signed, there isn't much to go off right now.
The Daily News quoted a source today that said a deal being done by tonight was unlikely.
A source close to Maclin told the Daily News over the weekend that getting a deal done by Sunday evening was starting to look unlikely. But realistically, if Maclin is in the fold and on the field by Friday, he probably won't have missed anything crucial.
It should be noted that several second round picks and one first round picks agreed to contracts today. This week prior to the opening of most NFL camps is typically when high picks start to sign.
The Maclin watch is undoubtedly on. If he does get a deal done and is in camp at some point this week then there's probably not much to worry about, but if this does turn into a holdout that lasts a few weeks into camp... that's bad news for the team and for the hope that Maclin can make a real impact in his first year.