Steven Jackson to End Holdout

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St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson will end his training camp holdout and report to the team tomorrow. Steven is entering the final year of a five-year, $7 million deal he signed as a first-round pick in 2004 but he turned down an offer from the Rams that would’ve put him among the highest paid at his position. Apparently, he wants to land a bigger-money deal before further exposing himself to the league’s harsh defensive elements. The Rams said they would not negotiate with Steven until he reported. So he’s reporting. No deal is in place yet, but head coach Scott Linehan is optimistic:

“This is certainly a step in the right direction. We’re hoping we can get this thing squared away real quickly.”

Steven is scheduled for a physical tomorrow morning and could make it onto the practice field as early as 10:30 a.m. CT. Simply put, the Rams desperately need Steven as part of their offense. Quarterback Marc Bulger seems to have all the other pieces in place after last year’s injury riddled debacle. Nearly the entire starting offensive line was hurt. And Marc ended up looking worse for the wear as a result. He was a car wreck. Now the O-line is healthy and adding Steven to the offensive equation will obviously make this team a whole lot better. Spoilers for sure. Wild card playoff caliber? Quite possibly.

Source: NFL.com, Photo: Newscom