Saints Top Pick Malcolm Jenkins Still A No Show For Camp

It’s officially the longest holdout of a Saints draft pick in team history under GM Mickey Loomis, reaching the nine day mark.

Previously the longest holdout was a two way tie between former Saints running back Deuce McAllister and wide receiver Devery Henderson, both hit the 8 day mark.

None of this is good news for Jenkins who is missing valuable time assimilating Gregg Williams new defensive package, putting him behind the likes of Tracy Porter,  Jabari Greer, and Randall Gay on the depth chart.

It’s a possibility that the contract negotiations between the Saints and Jenkins agents, Creative Artists Agency/Football, may extend longer than either side would like.

The issue most likely stems from Jenkins draft placement as he projected to go high in the top 10 of the draft, but fell to the Saints at number 14.

It’s speculated that Jenkins agents are pushing for more up front money because of this, the Saints just aren’t buying it.

CAA has signed eight of nine first round picks the agency represents, leaving Jenkins as the odd man out, and because of this expect talks to heat up between the two sides as now CAA can spend all its energy on getting Jenkins under contract with the team.

The money expected should be locked into placed as both picks ahead and behind Jenkins have signed contracts in the range of $18 to $20 million with $10 to $12 million in guaranteed money, which would put Jenkins deal worth $19 million with $11.5 million in guarantees.

Apparently it’s just no that easy to split the money between the two picks and hammer out a deal for Jenkins, at least that’s what Loomis thinks.

"“We’re not that far apart in terms of money,” Loomis said Saturday. “We just have a fundamental difference of opinion when it comes to how we reach the final numbers. We know it’s going to be a five-year deal. We know it’s going to fall somewhere between Orakpo and Cushing. We both know that. But it’s not as simple as splitting the difference.”"

Tom Condon and Ben Dogra, of CAA, also broke their silence on the Jenkins deal making several statements regarding the status of the negotiations.

"“Sometimes negotiations take longer than we want them to,” Dogra said Saturday. “Hey, we want to get a deal done and they want to get a deal done. Malcolm is our last man standing. Hopefully, we’ll get this resolved sooner rather than later.“Mickey’s a tough, shrewd negotiator, and I respect that,” Dogra said. “He’s trying to do what’s best for the Saints and we’re trying to do what’s best for our client.”"

You can’t make assumptions that the deal will happen quickly here, although it most likely will come down to who blinks first.

In the mean time the Saints will continue to practice without their coveted pick, only pushing him further behind a deep group of talented corners on the roster.

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