TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Another training camp, more suspense
from Edgerrin James.
Months of speculation about whether the two-time NFL rushing
champ would report on time Wednesday ended shortly after the
Indianapolis Colts held their first meeting and officials announced
he had arrived.
But James took the mysterious route.
Instead of driving into the players' parking lot at Rose-Hulman
Institute of Technology, James sneaked into camp undetected for the
second straight year. There were no actual sightings by the larger
than usual media contingent.
"Please, no Edgerrin James questions," wide receiver Reggie
Wayne, one of James' friends, pleaded when he got out of his car a
little more than an hour before the first team meeting.
The questions were just beginning.
James, a three-time Pro Bowler, became a free agent in February.
The Colts then placed the franchise tag on him, and in March, James
signed a one-year deal worth slightly more than $8 million. From
that point on, agent Drew Rosenhaus said James wanted a long-term
deal and even had permission to seek a trade.
When those efforts failed, some wondered whether James would
hold out.
Sports Illustrated reported this week that James said he would
report to camp on time, but would not travel to Tokyo for next
week's preseason opener against Atlanta. It became a prime topic
among James' teammates and Colts officials as they waited for James
to arrive Wednesday.
"I think he would have to have a darn good excuse," team
president Bill Polian said. "I'm not sure it's just us, either.
That's is the league's game, so it's the league's call."
James, a three-time Pro Bowler, detests preseason games and has
played sparingly in August throughout much of his career.
Coach Tony Dungy said if James didn't travel with the team there
could be consequences.
"I don't know that you can make anyone go anywhere," Dungy
said. "You can't make them come to training camp. ... But we had a
lot of hypotheticals about whether he would be here today or not.
I'd say there would be a lot of consequences for everyone,
including me if I didn't show up for a game that I was supposed
to."
Teammates thought it was just James being himself.
"You know everybody has to play preseason games, too, and he
gets out of that," kicker Mike Vanderjagt joked. "But I don't
care if he goes to Japan or goes to Denver or goes to Cincinnati as
long as he goes to Baltimore. That's all I care about."
The Colts open the regular season Sept. 11 at Baltimore.
James' situation drew the most attention Wednesday once the
Colts got their 10 draft picks under contract.
Second-round pick Kelvin Hayden was Indianapolis' last draft
choice to sign. He agreed to a four-year deal on the same day
fifth-round pick Rob Hunt signed a three-year deal. Another
fifth-rounder, Tyjuan Hagler, and seventh-rounder Anthony Davis
both accepted three-year contracts late Tuesday.
It marked the first time since 2002 the Colts did not have a
rookie holdout. Practice begins Thursday morning.
"It's good to have them all signed on time because we're a team
that really counts on our young guys," Dungy said. "Being here on
time helps them and it helps us."
When James was a rookie in 1999, he held out of camp for 21
days.
In 2002, after his driver's license was suspended because of
speeding tickets, he came to Terre Haute -- about 80 miles east of
Indianapolis -- by taxi. The next year, James and Wayne arrived on a
bus filled with children.
Instead of a grand entrance last year, the final year of his
contract at the time, James avoided publicity and reported without
talking to reporters.
His encore Wednesday raised suspense, but hardly any eyebrows.
"I know Edgerrin wants to have a good year for this team and
for himself as well," two-time MVP Peyton Manning said. "He was
the best running back in the NFL last year and knowing the kind of
athlete he is, I'm expecting the same thing this year."