McDermott said: "I'm a big believer in adapting to the hand that you're dealt, and I think Nate's up to the challenge, I really do. We'll see. He's got to earn the spot, and earn the trust of the coaches and his teammates, and I think he's willing to do that."
Allen dropped a pick yesterday morning and quickly did pushups as penance.
"It was a wake-up call, I guess you could say. Just don't drop the ball. I don't know what happened on that, but those pushups definitely woke me up," Allen said.
All the remaining players are expected to report on time this evening, except first-round rookie Brandon Graham, whose situation seems far from being resolved. The NFL did double its number of signed first-rounders yesterday, New England corner Devin McCourty, taken 27th overall, joining Dallas wideout Dez Bryant, taken 24th.
"Nothing's taken place so far, and he needs to be here," Reid said, succinctly updating the Graham situation.
"It's killing him," said Allen, who said he texted with Graham on Tuesday and spoke with other rookies who had done likewise. "They were talking to him, and he was just saying it was killing him not being here, and it was killing me, too, because I know when I was at home, I was texting the guys who were here . . . I can just imagine how Brandon is feeling right now."
Allen said he intended to text Graham again as soon as he got inside from the afternoon session. What did he plan to say?
"He needs to get out here. It's hot out here, and we haven't even put the pads on yet," Allen said.
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