Saints' Grant posts bond

New Orleans Saints defensive end Charles Grant posted $10,000 bond yesterday in Blakely, Ga., after his indictment on an involuntary manslaughter charge stemming from a February nightclub fight in which a woman died. Grant appeared before a judge and was presented with the charges and read his rights, Assistant District Attorney Ron Smith said.

Grant's lawyer, Ed Tolley, said Grant entered a not-guilty plea and waived his right to arraignment. The next step, a preliminary hearing, has not been scheduled.

Tolley said Grant would return to New Orleans for a Saints minicamp at the end of this month.

Grant was stabbed in the neck during the Feb. 3 fight. He was charged by a grand jury that also charged Laquient Macklin with felony murder and killing a fetus in the shooting death of Korynda Reed, 23. Reed, who was pregnant, died after being taken to the Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan.

Tolley said Grant and Macklin had gone to Pokey's club in Blakely, not far from the player's hometown of Colquitt, and "somehow got entangled in the fight." Tolley said Grant didn't shoot a gun and didn't have a gun.

"They're saying he was part of a fistfight, and someone got shot, and somehow that's his fault," Tolley said.

* New York Jets coach Eric Mangini is keeping Chris Baker updated on the playbook while the disgruntled tight end stays away from camp because of a contract dispute.

Baker wants to renegotiate his deal, but the Jets have so far declined. As a result, the veteran has boycotted the team's voluntary organized team activities.

"Anytime you encounter these, there are going to be different factors that go into it and we deal with all those factors as they come up," Mangini said. "The important thing for me is to keep Chris up to date with what's going on and I know that's important to him, as well, and that's what I'll keep doing."

Baker, in his seventh season with the Jets, is entering the third year of a 4-year deal that averages to about $1.65 million annually. The tight end, coming off a career-high 41 catches for 409 yards, has said he was told by the team last season that it would be willing to redo his contract if he had a productive year.

"Everyone has a difference of opinions and I respect the difference of opinions," Mangini said. "It's always going to be the case in any situation, and that's where it is."

* Mike Keenan was named team president of the Cleveland Browns, formally filling a position left vacant when John Collins resigned 2 years ago. Keenan has handled the club's off-the-field affairs as its vice president of business operations since 2005. *