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Posted on Sat, May. 31, 2008
Will Smith shows up for Saints minicamp
Holdout is still possible, he says
By LARRY HOLDER

METAIRIE, La. --A contract dispute didn't stop New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith from attending the team's mandatory minicamp Friday morning as he worked out with the team for the first time this offseason.

Smith didn't make any promises to be back with the Saints for the rest of the organized team activities, though, nor did he rule out a holdout if a new deal isn't in place by training camp.

Smith, a Pro Bowler in 2006, is looking for a new contract as he enters the final year of his deal in 2008, where he will make a little more than $1 million in base salary. Smith had skipped all of the Saints' voluntary offseason workouts up to this point.

"It's a decision (to attend minicamp) that me and my agent talked about," Smith said. "I wanted to be a team guy and be with my teammates. Our main goal is to win a Super Bowl this year, so I wanted to be here and help the team out."

SunHerald.com : Will Smith shows up for Saints minicamp

Smith's new contract should be done deal
Saturday, May 31, 2008
John DeShazier

So far, the Saints almost perfectly have "no big dealed" the absence of a big deal for Will Smith, essentially making a non-issue of a contract situation that could be contentious.

But make no mistake: Smith, one of the top defensive ends in the NFL, wants to be paid like one and should be paid like one. And the fact that he reported Friday for the team's mandatory three-day minicamp, after skipping all of the voluntary workouts, doesn't diminish that at all.

"It's a decision that me and my agent (Joel Segal) talked about," Smith said. "I want to be a team guy, be here for my teammates. The main goal is to win a Super Bowl this year, so I wanted to be here and help the team out."

He's here for now, at least.

"I've got to take it one day at a time," he said of being in New Orleans and working out with the team the rest of the offseason. "We'll see what happens after this weekend."

"Gotta see what happens," he said of reporting to Jackson, Miss., for training camp. "You never know. Got to take it one day at a time."

Smith's new contract should be done deal- NOLA.com

Smith hopes for new deal 'in near future'
By LES EAST
Special to The Advocate
Published: May 31, 2008

METAIRIE ? Saints defensive end Will Smith said Friday that he?s hopeful he?ll have a new long-term contract ?in the near future.?

Smith has stayed away from the team?s voluntary offseason workout program while his agent and Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis work on a new deal to replace his current one, which has one year remaining at a value of slightly more than $1 million.

The Saints? No. 1 draft choice in 2004 participated in the first two practices of the team?s three-day minicamp, which continues with two workouts today and concludes with one on Sunday.

Smith said he?ll decide at the end of minicamp whether he?ll stick around for the remaining two weeks of the offseason program. He wouldn?t speculate on whether he might hold out from training camp if a deal isn?t done by then.

?It?s a slow process and I knew that going into it,? Smith said between workouts. ?I knew it wouldn?t be (quick). I?ve got to see what happens. You never know. I?ve got to take it one day at a time and I?m hopeful that something will get done in the near future.?

Smith said he chose to attend the minicamp because he ?wanted to be a team guy and be here for my teammates,? but he would have been subject to fines if he had skipped the camp.

?That?s all voluntary and you don?t have to be there,? Smith said of the offseason program, which began in mid-March and ends June 12.

?The mini-camp is something you have to be at. It?s important to start off the 2008 season. It?s important. That?s why I?m here.?

Smith said he has been working out five days a week. ?It?s not like I?m missing out on work,? he said. ?I?m always training. My body is my job. Every day I?m working hard and trying to get better.?

Smith, who was a Pro Bowl player two years ago, said he?s confident he and the Saints will reach a fair agreement.

?You just have to take it in small steps,? he said. ?This is not going to happen overnight. It?s going to be a gradual process and we?ve got a lot of time to get something done and hopefully we will get something done in the near future.?

Saints coach Sean Payton wouldn?t comment on details of the negotiation, but said he was pleased with what he saw from Smith.

?He?s in pretty good shape,? Payton said. ?Obviously there?s a transition into football movements. He seems to be handling things pretty well.?

Payton said he didn?t see any evidence that his other starting defensive end, Charles Grant, is being distracted after being indicted last week on a charge of involuntary manslaughter stemming from an altercation outside a night club in Blakely, Ga., in which a pregnant woman was shot to death in February.

?There hasn?t been anything from this end,? Payton said. ?He?s been full speed ahead with the meetings and our itinerary of what we?re doing from a practice standpoint and handling all the other things.?

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