You know it's an action-packed day of training camp news when Reggie Wayne riding around in a race car doesn't even crack the headline.
Only two teams took the practice field on Wednesday (the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants), but 10 others had veterans report, so there's plenty of news to go through -- including Jamaal Charles' new contract extension, Vernon Davis reporting to 49ers camp on time and Sammy Watkins making filthy one-handed grabs (don't worry, there's video).
Jamaal Charles's holdout lasts less than a minute
Relax people of Kansas City, your all-everything running back is on his way. Amid rampant rumors of a holdout, Charles and the Chiefs brokered a last-minute deal that should have him at training camp by Thursday. Charles agreed to a two-year extension worth $18.1 million in new money.
Ian Rapoport broke the news of the extension mere seconds after Adam Schefter tweeted that Charles was "officially a holdout," resulting in what we can only assume is the shortest holdout in NFL history.
Of course if you ask Jamaal, it was all just one big misunderstanding.
I had no intention on holding out...I just ran out of gas on the way to camp and my cell phone battery died. It was a long walk I tell ya.
— Jamaal Charles (@jcharles25) July 23, 2014Vernon Davis reports to Niners camp
The city of San Francisco can take its own sigh of relief. The 49ers' All-Pro tight end, who had skipped the offseason workout program and mandatory minicamp while petitioning for a new contract, showed up on time.
His teammates were happy to see him (NSFW language included, because they're really excited).
David Fucillo of Niners Nation explains what this means for the team's offense:
Getting Davis back is huge. This offense has numerous weapons, and getting them all on the same page with each other and with Colin Kaepernick is important. We're talking about a group that includes Davis, Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin, and Stevie Johnson.
The Sammy Watkins show continues
Watkins, the Bills' top choice of the 2014 draft, has been the talk of training camp so far. That's still the case after his preposterous, he-tripped-oh-wait-he's-still-up-HOW-THE-HELL-DID-HE-DO-THAT one-hander on Wednesday.
In less exciting, but more significant Bills news, defensive tackle Marcell Dareus was back at camp on Wednesday, though he was limited to riding a stationary bike. Dareus missed practice on Monday and Tuesday while standing trial in Alabama for drug charges (he agreed to enter the NFL's substance abuse program in exchange for dropped charges). He still needs to pass the conditioning test he failed over the weekend, though, and won't be back on the practice field until Friday at the earliest.
Odell Beckham Jr. sits out Giants practice
We're still not sure how serious Beckham's injured hamstring is, but it's significant enough to at least hold him out of Wednesday's practice.
A noticeably discouraged Tom Coughlin wouldn't predict a recovery period when discussing the rookie's injury with Ed Valentine of Big Blue View.
"Who knows how long. You talk about hamstrings," Coughlin said. "Don't ask me. I have no idea."
Beckham, the 12th overall pick of the draft, got his feet tangled up with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie on Tuesday, apparently aggravating the hamstring issue that kept him out for most of the spring.
Reggie Wayne, race car driver
Wayne is the king of training camp arrivals -- in previous years he's shown up in a helicopter and a military humvee -- and this year he rolled up to Colts camp in the most Indianapolis way possible: in an Indy car.
Reggie Wayne arrives at @Colts camp in STYLE: http://t.co/KYXhd6kH61#NFLTrainingCamppic.twitter.com/TRc8cZgZlm
— NFL (@nfl) July 23, 2014After blowing out a wheel last season with an ACL tear, Wayne is hoping to be back up to speed when he and the rest of the Colts take the practice field on Thursday (race car puns!).
Julio Jones gets the green light
Speaking of bum wheels, Jones is apparently over the foot injury that ended his 2013 season and has been cleared to practice when Atlanta Falcons camp opens on Friday. He was off to a scorching start last year (at least 99 yards in four of his first five games) before going down in Week 5.
Head coach Mike Smith said Jones will be "competing in practice right from the start," but did say the coaches will keep the training wheels on for now.
"He will be limited in terms of his snaps," Smith told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Our No. 1 goal is to make sure that we've got everybody as healthy as we possibly can be, but we know that we have to get these guys some work together and reps.
Bengals place Jermaine Gresham on PUP list
The Cincinnati Bengals won't have their two-time Pro Bowl tight end on the field when they begin camp on Thursday. Gresham has been placed on the physically unable to perform list with a back injury, and there's been no word on how long he'll be sidelined.
This is a different issue than the sports hernia that kept him out of OTAs.
Jason Marcum at Cincy Jungle isn't too concerned, though.
For now, we are chalking this up to the team being uber-careful after taking one on the chin back in 2010 with wide receiver Antonio Bryant. The team needs to be absolutely certain that a player is ready to practice before throwing them out there, as they would lose the ability to put them back on the PUP if they end up still having injury issues.