Posted by ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert
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| Grant |
If Brett Favre is the Green Bay Packers No. 1 off-field issue right now, tailback Ryan Grant counts as a close second. With players scheduled to report Sunday for training camp, Grant remains unsigned as he attempts to secure a long-term contract.
Appearing Monday morning on ESPN's First Take, Grant said that discussions between his agent and the team are "moving forward" and that he is "very optimistic" a deal will get done. Grant, however, did not deny that he will hold out if necessary.
"I think I'll wait until everything gets done before I go up there," Grant said.
Grant is in a relatively rare position for a young player: He is technically a free agent, but because of his experience level he falls under the "exclusive rights" category -- which prevents him from negotiating with other teams unless his current one cuts ties. The Packers offered him a standard tender of $370,000 for 2008, but he has thus far refused to sign the contract.
As a result, Grant was present for but did not participate in any offseason workouts. He can't practice in training camp until he either signs the one-year tender or comes to an agreement on a multi-year deal.
Without Grant, the Packers would probably give Brandon Jackson most of the first-team repetitions in training camp.
