Panthers Two Contracts Away From Full Camp

With less than a week to go before training camp begins, the Carolina Panthers have all but two of their draft picks signed. Unfortunately, it's these two:


Running back Jonathan Stewart (left) and tackle Jeff Otah (right) remain the only players who have yet to dot the I's and cross the T's. All the team's second-day picks -- including 3rd-round picks Dan Connor, who is expected to push the other linebackers in camp, and Charles Godfrey, who will compete with Terrence Holt for the starting free safety spot -- are signed and ready to go.

Given how important Stewart and Otah are expected to be to John Fox's revamped running game this season, the Panthers clearly want to avoid another Jon Beason-style holdout, which was only eight days long but still caused massive consternation in the front office. However, only six first round picks are signed as of today. (The updated list is here.) That could mean all these rookies are waiting to see how much money the others make before they come to terms. If they're waiting for Joe Flacco money, we could all be waiting a while.

Then again, given their various knocks in minicamp, maybe missing a weekend of two-a-days isn't the worst thing for these two.