According to super-agent and slimeball extraordinare Drew Rosenhaus, Steelers' first round draft choice Lawrence Timmons will be signed in time for the start of training camp in July.
I tend to believe him this time, but not because of his past track record. Instead, it just should be relatively easy to get a fair deal in place for a LB who wasn't really projected to go any higher than he did at #15.
However, take a look at the list of Rosenhaus clients who have held out in recent year:
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin, Carolina Panthers linebacker Dan Morgan, Denver Broncos wide receiver Javon Walker (who was a holdout with Green Bay), New Orleans Saints cornerback Mike McKenzie (then with Green Bay), New York Giants running back Reuben Droughns (then with Cleveland), Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens (then with Philadelphia) and Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs.
Rosenhaus is no dummy. At this point in his career, I'm sure he knows who he can bully around, and who not to waste his time and efforts on. One such guy might be Omar Kahn, the Steelers representative who handles contract negotiations:
I'm not too worried about Rosenhaus' influence over Timmons this time around in the negotiations process, but if Timmons positions himself as one of the top 10-20 LBs in the league by the time his contract is set to expire, I'd expect Timmons would probably be swayed by Drew to chase bigger money elsewhere. That's a long ways away though. For now, let's hope we can get him signed, on the field, and contributing for several solid years.