Time is running out on defensive end Justin Smith, the Bengals' top pick who had vowed he would not miss a day of training camp.

        Smith still was unsigned and at home in Columbia, Mo., Wednesday. Players are due to report Friday to Georgetown, Ky. First practice is Saturday.

        “They are hard deals to work out,” Jim Steiner, Smith's agent, said Wednesday. “We're talking (signing) bonus, cash flow ... all the different facets.”

        Smith, , who had 11 sacks and 24 tackles for loss last season at Missouri, had said the day after the Bengals took him with the fourth overall pick that he would not be a contract holdout.

        “It was just an honest comment. It's from the heart,” Steiner said. “When it comes down to it, he understands the issues. He's going to be patient.”

        Steiner described the negotiations with Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn as “good.”

        “We're getting along fine, communicating every day,” Steiner said. “It could be Friday. It could be later.”

        To date, only one of this year's first-round picks, Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick, has signed. So the Bengals have plenty of company around the league in struggling to reach an agreement with their top selection.

        If Smith holds out, he would become the eighth of the past 11 Bengals first-round picks to miss some training camp because of a contract dispute. Only Warrick (2000), Ki-Jana Carter (1995) and Dan Wilkinson (1994) signed early enough to report to camp on time.

        “We've got six of the seven done so far this year. It's a good feeling,” said Bengals vice president Paul H. Brown, who handled negotiations for the three deals reached Wednesday. “We've got one left (Smith), and we have a couple of days to get that done.”

Smith may be holdout after all Three picks reach terms, lift offense

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