Matt Jones still hasnt signed

Well 2 hours until monday has officially past. Matt Jones still hasnt signed. I know quite a few first rounders havent as well but youd think when you got a guy making a position switch they would put a little more emphasis on getting him signed in time.

I dont want state this as if its a fact but I get the feeling Paul Vance, the jags GM, is the one to blame for this. Jones' agent Dave Butz, works for Sportstars, an agency known for signing players early. Quote from Len Pasquarelli... "Don't bet against one of the Sportstars clients becoming the initial first-round choice to reach a contract accord. Led by superb number cruncher Brian Mackler, the firm has developed a reputation for being proactive in negotiations and annually seems to be out front in striking deals." Vance on the other hand is known for playing a little hardball when it comes to handing out contracts; understandably so considering he had to clean up the Jags salary cap mess.

The problem is Vance sometimes plays a little too much hardball. We've seen this before. Byron Leftwich was a 19 day hold out because Vance didnt want to give extra incentives that usually go to rookie QBs. In the end, Vance pretty much caved and Leftwich's agent got most of what he wanted for his client.

In this case with Matt Jones, I cant imagine its his agent causing the holdout. Again, Sportstars is known for getting players to camp on time. They dont reacte to the market. They set the market. Im sure there are a lot of little things to iron but the basic numbers for each draft pick are pretty well set. Its based on the contracts similar picks the previous year received and contracts from surrounding picks in the same year. The sides cant be arguing over millions of dollars here. They are arguing over nit picky little details that would not ruin the cap.

I appreciate Vance trying to be careful but I dont care if he needs to be a little "lenient"(lenient for him at least) once a year when signing the Jags first round pick. Get these players into camp and quit worrying about something stupid like a $200k roster bonus three years from now! The contracts are basically set! Get the deal done!