A rush of contractual agreements left first-round pick Reggie Williams the only unsigned Jaguars draft pick this morning, while veteran guard Chris Naeole has agreed to a five-year extension that locks up the right side of the Jaguars offensive line through 2009.
"Mo and Chris were priorities," salary cap manager and lead negotiator Paul Vance said of having completed deals in the last week with tackle Maurice Williams and Naeole. Each player was in the final year of his contract and each agreed to five-year extensions. Naeole received a $3.4 million signing bonus and his deal will average $2.5 million per year.
Center Brad Meester agreed last season to a long-term deal that will run through the 2008 season. Starting left guard Vince Manuwai is in the second-year of the three-year contract he signed as a rookie, and starting left tackle Mike Pearson has two years remaining on his rookie deal.
The additions last night of second-round draft choices Daryl Smith and Greg Jones, third-round pick Jorge Cordova and fourth-round pick Ernest Wilford left Vance and the Jaguars to concentrate their efforts on Reggie Williams, the ninth overall pick of the 2004 NFL draft. When asked to characterize the state of negotiations with Williams and his agents, Karl and Kevin Poston, Vance said, "still talking." The Jaguars remain hopeful they can reach an agreement with Williams before the start of training camp practices tomorrow morning. Players are due to report by 5 p.m. today.
Smith and Jones agreed to four-year deals; Cordova and Wilford did three-year contracts. The Jaguars agreed to terms yesterday with fifth-round picks Josh Scobee and Chris Thompson, and with seventh-round pick Bobby McCray.
The Jaguars will begin their first practice of training camp tomorrow morning at 10:30, at the team's Alltel Stadium practice facility, and they'll kick-off the first of 13 night practices Saturday at 7 p.m. Permanent lighting was recently installed at the practice complex.
