Jackson is, for the most part, a willing interviewee, so his two-day silence is of note. It could be that he has tired of talking about his contract situation. It is one that apparently isn't changing. However, he opened a can of worms in January when he said he wanted a new deal.
He has since tempered those comments and his attendance at camp suggests that he isn't unhappy enough to stay home. He did miss the last week of June workouts without explanation.
Because he and cornerback Asante Samuel also missed their conditioning tests that week, they had to show up at camp early Thursday morning and complete sprints.
"He did a great job on his conditioning test," Reid said. "He's in phenomenal shape."
Samuel kept calling Jackson "the 180 Man" just before the afternoon practice began. Asked if the nickname had anything to do with money, Samuel just laughed.
Mad Max
With Todd Herremans still on the shelf, a svelte Max Jean-Gilles opened camp as the starter at left guard.
Herremans, who has a sore left foot, remained on the physically-unable-to-perform list, along with center Jamaal Jackson (knee) and defensive end Victor Abiamiri (knee). Reid has said that holding Herremans back is merely a precautionary move.
Jean-Gilles, now in his fifth season with the Eagles, has played this role before.
"It's nothing new," Jean-Gilles said. "Somebody hurt. Somebody broke. Somebody steps in."
Jean-Gilles hopes his recent weight loss improves his chances of making the team and maybe even competing with Stacy Andrews at right guard. He said he dropped 50 pounds, down to 349 pounds, after a lap band was surgically attached around his stomach in April. He has been cleared to go full-out when the team wears the full pads and hits on Saturday for the first time.
"He looks like he's ready to pose for Esquire," Reid said.
Mays traded
Rather than cut Joe Mays, which was likely, the Eagles traded the middle linebacker to Denver for running back J.J. Arrington, who is coming off major surgery.
Mays, drafted in the sixth round of the 2008 draft, never panned out and after the Eagles added several linebackers in the off-season, he was destined to be released.
Arrington missed all of last season after he had microfracture knee surgery. A second-round pick in 2005, the 27-year-old Arrington played four seasons in Arizona before the Broncos acquired him. If Arrington doesn't make the 53-man roster, the Eagles receive a conditional sixth-round pick in 2012.
Contact staff writer Jeff McLane at 215-854-4745 or jmclane@phillynews.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Jeff_McLane
