Eagles Notes: Safety Allen ends holdout, agrees to 4 years

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Nate Allen ended up missing just one day of training camp.

The rookie safety out of South Florida and the Eagles agreed to a four-year contract Tuesday evening, ending one of the rare holdouts from a second round-draft pick for the team.

Details of the contract were not disclosed.

Allen will be at Lehigh in time for Wednesday morning's 8:45 a.m. practice, according to the Eagles. The question that remains is: Will he still have the starting free safety job he was handed in the spring?

The Eagles' top pick, defensive end Brandon Graham, is still unsigned and the prospects of his getting into uniform anytime soon appear slim.

"We're not waiting on anyone; we're moving forward as a defense," Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said earlier Tuesday before Allen's signing. "If and when they report, they'll have to get caught up."

Because most of the veterans have yet to report - they arrive Thursday afternoon - it will be difficult to gauge if Allen is still the starter. Friday afternoon's practice will provide the answer.

Nevertheless, Allen wasn't going to be handed the position, anyway. He'll have to fend off Quintin Demps and possibly rookie Kurt Coleman, a seventh-round pick.

Allen was selected with the 37th overall pick - the one the Eagles received from Washington in exchange for quarterback Donovan McNabb. Allen opened minicamp as the backup to Marlin Jackson, but when the veteran ruptured his Achilles tendon during a practice a few weeks later, the rookie was bumped up to starter.

The Eagles are expecting a lot out of Allen at the spot once held down by Brian Dawkins, a void they couldn't effectively fill last season.

Allen's brief holdout, however, may delay his ascension to starter. The last Eagles second-round pick to hold out from camp was linebacker Quinton Caver in 2001. His tenure with the Eagles lasted less than two seasons.

If you listen to Eagles officials, there is nothing to worry about when it comes to starting guard Todd Herremans, whose injured left foot kept him out of five games last season.

If you observe their actions, the message is mixed at best.

Herremans has not practiced with the team since May and is beginning training camp on the physically-unable-to-perform list. On Tuesday, he said he does not expect to play in the Eagles' first preseason game, Aug. 13, against Jacksonville.

He told reporters, however, that he isn't worried, while allowing that he isn't really allowed to talk much about the injury anyway.

"If there was something drastically wrong, I would be a lot more worried right now," Herremans said, downplaying the injury. A day earlier, coach Andy Reid said he was just taking it "nice and easy" with Herremans.

The guard said he does not have a timetable for his return.

"The goal is to be ready for the regular season. I plan on getting some snaps in the preseason," Herremans said.

He was running and working out with trainers and center Jamaal Jackson on the sideline, and seemed to be moving fine. Defensive end Victor Abiamiri rode a stationary bike.

Aside from quarterbacks Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick, tight end Cornelius Ingram is the only Eagles veteran attending the early portion of camp. "Veteran" is a loose term for Ingram, who missed all of his rookie season last year after he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in August for the second straight year. Ingram is expected to compete with rookie Clay Harbor and veteran Martin Rucker for the backup tight end spot behind Brent Celek. . . . Former Eagles Duce Staley and Shawn Barber are in camp as part of the NFL's minority coaching fellowship program. Staley, who has gotten considerably larger than he was during his playing days as a running back, hosts a sports talk show in South Carolina. Barber coaches at a small college in Kansas.