Top draft pick holdout reaches six days

Jones’ holdout reached six days Wednesday and eight practice sessions, which marks the longest holdout by a player for this franchise since the Titans relocated here from Texas in 1997. Albert Haynesworth’s five-day holdout in 2002 had been the longest.

General manager Floyd Reese said he received another certified letter from Jones’ agent, Michael Huyghue, but sounded very frustrated because he has yet to receive a counter proposal.

“We’ve already got two out there, and we’ve got nothing in return. For me to send more, … it’s like we’re negotiating against ourselves. I’m not going to do that,” Reese said.

Huyghue said Wednesday morning that they were working on a contract and making progress. He pointed out that Jones, the sixth player taken overall and the first defensive player drafted, is not alone in being unsigned.

Of the 32 players drafted in the first round, 10 remained unsigned as of Wednesday afternoon with four of those in the top six counting Jones.

“When there’s a meeting of the minds, he’ll be there,” Huyghue said.

Reese said a couple of telephone conversations with Huyghue had been brief.

“It’s frustrating because you don’t know why,” Reese said. “If I knew why, it might be different. But I don’t. It’s not numbers because we haven’t gotten that far. It’s not structure because we haven’t gotten that far. It’s not total package. It’s not guaranteed money. It’s none of those things.”

Reese said Jones’ legal troubles aren’t a problem because the organization already had decided on how to handle the situation. Reese said before training camp that he wanted a deal that protected the Titans.

On Wednesday, the man who pressed charges against Jones and had him arrested on July 13 said he won’t be dropping his case. Jones is due to appear in court on Aug. 11 on a charge of felony vandalism and two misdemeanor counts of assault for an incident at a nightclub Robert Gaddy co-owns a block away from the Titans’ stadium.

Gaddy said he had been told he just wanted money, a charge he called outlandish. He said it was a simple matter that Jones couldn’t comply with, which is why he’s leaving the case to the courts.

“I couldn’t even get reimbursed for the things that were damaged or an apology,” said Gaddy, a former college teammate and occasional bodyguard for Titans quarterback Steve McNair. “They can make outlandish statements. I couldn’t get what I was due.”

Huyghue was traveling Wednesday afternoon and did not immediately return a message left for him by The Associated Press.

With Jones missing, three-year veteran Tony Beckham is working with the first-team defense in the cornerback slot the Titans would like to see Jones win.

“It’d be good to have him to compare me with,” Beckham said.

Haynesworth said Jones should have been in camp last weekend. He thinks the rookie now is missing valuable time he won’t be able to make up when he arrives.

He did have some advice for Jones: Be humble when the deal is done.

“I know the steps to come in. Don’t come in here talking. Don’t come in saying, `I’m going to do this. I’m going to do that,” Haynesworth said.

“He hasn’t played a down of football yet. He has to come in, be humble, listen to the DBs over there, listen to his coaches and start making some plays. Then you’ll slowly but surely win over the players in this locker room.”