I really hope we can get both of these guys signed an into camp on time. I believe it’s very important for rookies to take part in the camp. Every year it seems like there are a gew guys that hold out forever – and really put themselves in a bad position. Let’s hope these two guys won’t fall into that bunch.

I’m not worried about Sweed. He’ll be in a battle for the #3 WR spot with Nate if he signs, but I’m fine with Nate holding onto that role this year. Sweed would only hurt himself by holding out. All we need is for Sweed to get a little more integrated into the offense by the end of the year so we can feel better about letting Nate go as a FA and have a little more leverage renegotiating Ward’s ridiculous cap number.

While we’d be okay with Parker and Moore, having Mendy from day one takes us from an acceptable backfield to an exceptional one. Furthermore, the pessimist might ask how both his injury and the heavy workload of 2007 may affect Parker going forward. Having Mendenhall ready to start would go a long way toward eliminating those concerns. He could hold out based on his projected draft position, but he seems like a good kid, and apparently all he wants with his signing bonus is to buy some shoes.

I’m not worried about them holding out yet. Sure, it’s possible that their agents may try to get them a deal closer to where the Steelers projected them than where they picked them, but that rarely works, unless it’s a top 5 pick who may have been a surprise to slide from 1 or 2 to 4 or 5. I think they’ll be signed and in camp on time.