Jones-Drew ends holdout without new deal

Maurice Jones-Drew remains as passionate as ever about his value.

So when the Jacksonville Jaguars running back ended his 38-day holdout Sunday - without a new contract - he had no apologies, no regrets and no concerns about his standing with the franchise.

"I'm in a good place," he said. "I did something I felt was right, and I'm always going to feel right. I'm not going to feel wrong for what I did at all. And that's why I can come back and not have a negative attitude. I think if you regret things, you're going to come back salty, be a distraction, things like that.

"I don't feel that way 'cause what I did was right. No one can tell me it was wrong. Not one person here can tell me what I did was wrong."

Jones-Drew arrived at the team facility Sunday morning, chatted with teammates, then had a 40-minute conversation with coach Mike Mularkey.

Later, he spent nearly a half-hour answering questions about his holdout, even getting to a point where he told reporters to "make sure we all get this out of the way because I'm done after this."

"This is the last talk about the whole contract situation," he said. "We're going to move forward to football after this."

Jones-Drew considered skipping games, missing paychecks and causing an even bigger distraction for the team. Ultimately, though, he opted to report a week before the season opener. Jacksonville plays at Minnesota on Sunday.

"It really wasn't about budging," said Jones-Drew, who took a conditioning test later in the day. "For me, it got to the point where I wasn't going to be traded. Obviously, they weren't going to pay me. I could have easily sat out until Week 10, come back and been a distraction. It wasn't about that. I'm not going to come back and distract guys from playing the game the right way."

The NFL's leading rusher in 2011, Jones-Drew skipped the team's entire offseason schedule in what became a nasty contract dispute.

Mularkey can fine MJD up to $30,000 a day - plus $60,000 for a three-day, mandatory minicamp in June - meaning the total tab could end up being $1.2 million. Jones-Drew declined to reveal what he and Mularkey discussed regarding the potential fine.

Jones-Drew is scheduled to make $4.45 million in 2012 and $4.95 million next year.

He wanted to renegotiate the final two years of a five-year, $31 million deal that paid him nearly $22 million the last three seasons. Owner Shad Khan and general manager Gene Smith refused, not wanting to set a precedent of paying players in the middle of lucrative deals.

■ GIANTS - New York receiver Hakeem Nicks stood at his locker and didn't even wait for the question to be asked. Nicks was held out of practice for the NFL kickoff Wednesday against the Dallas Cowboys. But he said emphatically, "I'm playing, period."

Just hours earlier, there was some concern when Nicks rode a stationary bike as the Super Bowl champions stretched, and then he watched the workout. Was the right foot that he broke this spring acting up?

The answer was no. The Giants wanted to give him some rest so he would be full speed against the Cowboys.

■ COWBOYS - Tight end Jason Witten won't know until Tuesday if he will be cleared to play in the season opener.

Witten is set to have a CT scan before the team leaves for New York to determine if his lacerated spleen is healed. Owner Jerry Jones said that scan probably will dictate if the seven-time Pro Bowler gets to play against the Giants.

Also, cornerback Mike Jenkins practiced for the first time since shoulder surgery forced him to miss offseason workouts and training camp. Jenkins feels good, but isn't sure about his chances of playing.

■ RAVENS - Baltimore signed former New England safety James Ihedigbo, who started 12 games last year for the Patriots. He had 69 tackles and one pass deflection.

With Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard as the Ravens' starting safeties, Ihedigbo will likely be used initially on Baltimore's special teams.

■ PANTHERS - Carolina parted ways with defensive tackle Terrell McClain, last year's third-round draft pick, and replaced him with free agent Dwan Edwards, an eight-year veteran who was cut Friday by the Buffalo Bills.

Although McClain started 12 games last year as a rookie, the Panthers were unhappy with his lack of consistency in training camp.