Jimmy Kennedy made up for lost time after agreeing to a contract with the St. Louis Rams.
After the Rams and their first-round draft pick out of Penn State reached an agreement late Monday night, Kennedy did his laundry, packed and began the three-and-a-half-hour drive to Western Illinois University at 4:40am local time.
"I had to get here," Kennedy said after signing a five-year deal on Tuesday. "I was feeling it, but once I get through the first practice I should be all right."
Kennedy arrived in time to dress for a special teams practice on Tuesday morning, where his appearance drew cheers from fans, and participated in his first workout in the afternoon. He missed the first five days of camp.
The contract was held up because Kennedy's agent, Tom Condon, has three other first-round picks. Kennedy worked out alone at Rams Park in St. Louis while he was waiting.
"It was real tough," Kennedy said. "I was on Tom every day telling him, `Come on, get me in camp, I'm missing some days.' I'm a rookie and I have to be out there with my team and try to get adjusted."
The only player not in camp is holdout offensive tackle Orlando Pace, designated as the franchise player earlier in the year. The sides remain far apart and Martz said he's moving on without him, using Grant Williams at left tackle.
Kennedy joins a defensive line that features three other No. 1 picks -- Grant Wistrom, Ryan Pickett and Damione Lewis.
Kennedy started 41 games in his career at Pennsylvania State University and was named Big Ten defensive lineman of the year his senior year at right tackle. He had a career high 87 tackles -- 52 of them solo stops -- and five and a half sacks.
Also Tuesday, linebacker Terrell Suggs agreed to a five-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens, a deal that includes a US$7.3 million signing bonus.
The 10th overall pick was expected to be at training camp yesterday.
Quarterback Kyle Boller, picked 19th overall, is still a holdout.
Defensive end Calvin Pace, the No. 18 pick overall, signed a four-year, US$8 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals, with a team option for a fifth.
After signing, Pace participated in an afternoon walkthrough practice. The Cardinals' other first-round pick, wide receiver Bryant Johnson, remained unsigned.
Nose tackle Gilbert Brown reported to the Green Bay Packers' training camp, after signing a six-year contract that was in the works since Saturday.
"Green Bay gave me the opportunity to come back and play a couple more years," the 10-year veteran nose tackle said. "I'm happy for that."
The Packers only would have had to count US$475,000 against their salary cap had Brown accepted a US$655,000 veteran's minimum deal with a US$25,000 bonus.
But the Washington Redskins raised the stakes with an offer to Brown, and the nose tackle and the Packers agreed to a contract reported to contain a US$400,000 signing bonus.
That means Brown will count US$721,667 against the cap -- his minimum base salary of US$655,000, plus the pro-rated signing bonus of US$66,667.
Brown said Tuesday he was "very close" to accepting the Redskins' offer.
Safety Ainsley Battles signed with the Buffalo Bills, bolstering their young secondary.
HSIEH ADVANCES: In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei was to play in the second round last night, but Taiwan’s Ray Ho exited in the men’s doubles It is more than 10 years since Grigor Dimitrov reached his sole Wimbledon semi-final and back then it still seemed a reasonable bet that the Bulgarian once dubbed “Baby Federer” would win a Grand Slam title. There were semi-final runs at the US Open and Australian Open after that, but it has never quite happened and despite him still being ranked No. 21, it most likely never will. Dimitrov, 34, remains one of the most stylish players on the circuit though, with his elegant single-handed backhand and smooth all-court game a rare reminder of how tennis was before the power merchants turned
Spain are the favorites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, but star player Aitana Bonmati’s illness ahead of the tournament raises another question mark around a side which, despite their obvious quality, are not unstoppable. Having claimed the last two Ballon d’Or awards, Barcelona midfielder Bonmati is the game’s biggest star at present, so her absence in the final days before the start of Euro 2025 is a major setback. The 27-year-old came down with a fever in training last week, and was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with viral meningitis. Bonmati was discharged on Sunday and joined up with
INJURY TURMOIL: Despite stunning French Open champions Paolini and Errani to advance, Chan was forced to pull out after her partner’s tearful women’s singles defeat Last year’s mixed doubles champions Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Poland’s Jan Zielinski on Monday crashed out of the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, leaving the Taiwanese star focused on pursuing a fifth women’s doubles title in London, while a partner injury forced compatriot Chan Hao-ching to give up on her doubles campaign. Hsieh and Zielinksi, who last year also won the Australia Open title, narrowly lost their opening set 7-6 (9/7), before Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani stunned the former champions 6-3 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The Taiwanese-Polish duo had been dominant in the first two
Real Madrid’s FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund had taken three crazy turns during nine minutes of second-half stoppage time when Marcel Sabitzer chested the ball and sent a right-footed volley toward Thibaut Courtois’ post. Courtois leapt to his right, extended the long arm on his 2m frame and just managed to get his gloved fingertips on the ball, knocking it down. Courtois hit the ground as the ball bounded up. He looked skyward, planted his right hand to regain his balance, grabbed the ball with both hands on the second bounce and fell onto it with his chest. Sabitzer turned
RSS