GEORGETOWN, Ky. — Defensive end Justin Smith, the Bengals' top draft pick, said Wednesday that he could sign his contract as early as this weekend if negotiations continue to progress. But his agent, Jim Steiner, wasn't nearly so optimistic.

        “We submitted a market deal, a slotted deal, and it's been rejected by the Bengals,” Steiner said. “For some reason, they just don't want to make a deal.”

        Steiner sent a proposal to the Bengals in response to one he had received Tuesday. Katie Blackburn, the Bengals' executive vice president who's handling the negotiations, then called Steiner to offer her preliminary impression of the new proposal. She said she pointed out several areas where differences might still exist.

        Steiner viewed the conversation as an outright rejection of his proposal.

        “That's a soft, delicate way of presenting it to you,” Steiner said. “To us, it's a flat-out rejection.”

        Blackburn said the negotiations are hung up in three areas: up-front or signing-bonus money; a guarantee of the second part of the signing bonus; and Steiner's insistence on escalator clauses that increase the value of the entire contract based on a one- time set of incentives rather than incentives that have to be met every year.

        The escalator clause, in which Smith would receive more money for the entire life of the contract if he plays in 35 percent of the Bengals' defensive plays, is a particular sticking point. Blackburn says such escalator clauses have not been included in contracts for the No.4 pick.

        “He's looking to stretch the type of deals that have been for the top three picks down to the top four,” Blackburn said.

        Steiner, who was to meet with Smith and his parents Wednesday night, said the proposal he made was for less total money, less first-year money and less signing bonus money than the Browns' Gerard Warren received as the third pick.

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