Fletcher Smith, the agent for Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, confirmed this morning an ESPN.com report that said McNabb will receive $5.3 million in new money from the two-year restructuring the Eagles worked with his client Thursday night. That means the final two years of McNabb's contract is now worth $24.5 million with a good portion of that guaranteed.

Smith said the deal makes McNabb one of the three or four highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL. He also said he believed the sides would have worked out an extension a few years ago if it had not been for a series of injuries that prematurely ended McNabb's 2005 and 2006 seasons.

Eagles president Joe Banner said the two sides almost immediately started talking about a two-year restucture rather than an extension when conversations started with a meeting in late February.

"It was appropriate to make some adjustments so that he was rewarded commensurate with the way he plays," Banner said. "At the risk of saying something very counterintuitive, it was the fair thing to do. We do try to be fair with the guys. In this situation, we felt if we didn't make an adjustment in light of where he was at in the timing of the contract, it wouldn't be fair. That motivated us. He obviously had similar motivations and it worked out."

Banner said that the Eagles probably wouldn't consider an extension for McNabb at least until late in the 2010 season, which gives the team time to evaluate his play as well as the progress of backup Kevin Kolb, the team's first  choice in the 2007 draft.

"We had a discussion: should we do a long-term deal or should we just address the two years?" Banner said. "Frankly, we both wanted to do something that was really simple, so that he could stay focused on football and the team was focused on having the best year it could.  Very early, it was clear that with the complications of the unknowns it was going to be much easier to do two years. We were both fine with that so we just focused on that."

Banner was asked about how cornerback Sheldon Brown might react to McNabb's restructured deal given that the team has refused to address his contract situation.

"I don't see any comparisons between the two situations," Banner said. "We've said that there are a very limited number of what we'd say are extraordinary situations where the value of a contract and where the market warrant addressing a contract. Those are very rare. They're very much the exceptions. Obviously in this case we thought it met the criteria."

The Eagles and Donovan McNabb have agreed on a deal that will restructure the final two years of the quarterback's contract, a league source said tonight. The team has now confirmed the deal.

Details of the restructure were not immediately available, but the source said McNabb received a bump in pay with a portion of the money guaranteed.

McNabb, who is entering the 11th season as the team's quarterback, had been scheduled to make $9.2 million this season and $10 million next season as part of a contract that he signed in 2002.

"We are thrilled that this all worked out," Eagles president Joe Banner said in a statement. "He is a great football player, a great person and someone who gives back to the community. We are lucky to have him in Philadelphia."

Added coach Andy Reid: "The Philadelphia Eagles organization and the entire city of Philadelphia are fortunate to have a quarterback the caliber of Donovan McNabb. He has proven himself to be a talented player on the field, a caring member of the Philadelphia community and a winner."

Reid and McNabb are scheduled to meet with the media tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.

Four days after being benched in a game against the Baltimore Ravens last season, McNabb led the Eagles to a Thanksgiving night victory over the Arizona Cardinals and said afterward that there were some things he wanted to discuss with Reid and Banner.

McNabb, honored tonight as the Father of the Year by the American Diabetes Association of Greater Philadelphia, never did specify exactly what he wanted to discuss, but he admitted shortly after the season that he wanted to discuss his contract.

Reid was asked about McNabb's contract today after the Eagles completed their final offseason camp at the NovaCare Complex.

"I stay away from the contract things," Reid said. "We'll see how things go down the road here. I think everybody knows we are very honored to have Donovan here."

Reid said he hasn't noticed any change in the way McNabb has gone about his business in this camp.

"He's been no different ...," Reid said. "I'd like to make it a little more dramatic than that, but he's out there messing around with everybody and when he's in doing the offense, he's cranking it and being serious and knocking out the things he needs to knock out. It's really no different. He seems happy, if that matters. He seems to be in a great place right now, but I can't say I haven't seen that before."

The Eagles completed their final team workouts before the start of traning camp late next month by giving the offense and defense a scouting look at the Carolina Panthers, the team they will face in their Sept. 13 regular-season opener.

Afterward, coach Andy Reid provided some updates on the physical conditions of a few of his players as well as his defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, who remains on a leave of absence while receiving chemotherapy for metastasized melanoma on his spine.

"Some days are good days and some days are not very good days," Reid said. "He is receiving chemotherapy and it's pretty intense chemotherapy. There are some days that stuff gets you and some days that he feels pretty good. I have a chance to talk to him about every day and he's a battler."

Reid added that interim defensive coordinator Sean McDermott has adapted well to being in charge during these camps.

"If that's how it's going to be in the fall, then at least he has had a little exposure to it," Reid said. "If Jim comes back, then I think Sean is even better for it."

Reid said he's confident McDermott can do the job for one simple reason.

"He had a great teacher," the coach said. "He had the best in the business teaching him."

Right guard Stacy Andrews, who is rehabilitating from anterior cruciate ligament surgery on his right knee, participated in individual drills during the last two weeks of voluntary camp and Reid said he expects Shawn's older brother to be ready for the start of training camp.

"Stacy is making progress," Reid said. "He went through all the individual stuff this week and he's ahead of schedule. We're trying to be smart with that and not force the issue and get him ready for training camp. We're not going to monitor him at camp. I think he'll be ready to go. We'll ease him into it and see how he does."

Reid said running back Brian Westbrook, who underwent ankle surgery a week ago, has started his rehab and will continue doing so by working at both the NovaCare Complex and his home back in Maryland. Westbrook has been at the practice facility this week.

Wide receiver Kevin Curtis was excused from the final practice for personal reasons and defensive end Bryan Smith sat out with a swollen knee.

Reid had little to say about a ComcastSportsNet report that the Eagles and Donovan McNabb are inching closer to reworking the final two years of the quarterback's contract.

"I stay away from the contract things," Reid said. "We'll see how things go down the road here. I think everybody knows we are very honored to have Donovan here."

Reid said he hasn't noticed any change in the way McNabb has gone about his business in this camp.

"He's been no different ...," Reid said. "I'd like to make it a little more dramatic than that, but he's out there messing around with everybody and when he's in doing the offense, he's cranking it and being serious and knocking out the things he needs to knock out. It's really no different. He seems happy, if that matters. He seems to be in a great place right now, but I can't say I haven't seen that before."

Training camp opens July 26 for rookies and selected veterans and July 29 for the remaining veterans.

Eagles wide receiver Hank Baskett and his fiance Kendra Wilkinson are expecting, according to an E! News report.

Baskett and the former Playboy playmate are scheduled to get married on June 27 at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles.

The couple have recently been featured on the reality television show, "Kendra" on E!

Baskett was unavailable for comment.

Ingram and Brookie.

Rookie tight end Cornelius Ingram and the Eagles agreed to terms on a four-year contract, according to Ingram's agent, Drew Rosenhaus.

A team spokesman said there should be an announcement forthcoming. The Eagles need to cut a player before they can finalize the deal with Ingram.

Rosenhaus announced the signing on Twitter.

"After meeting with the Eagles this morning in Philly," Rosenhaus wrote, "we have just agreed to terms on a 4 year deal for rookie TE Cornelius Ingram."

Ingram was selected in the fifth round of April's draft. The Florida product missed his senior season last year with a torn ACL, but has looked very good in minicamp.

Ingram's signing leaves the Eagles with just their top two picks unsigned -- wide receiver Jeremy Maclin and running back LeSean McCoy. The team has now inked six of their draft picks.

Rosenhaus also announced that Rosenhaus Sports has signed Eagles guard Max Jean-Gilles as a new client.

The Eagles announced today that they have signed two more rookies -- tackle Paul Fanaika and linebacker Moise Fokou -- to four-year deals. On Saturday, the team inked defensive back Macho Harris, tackle Fenuki Tupou and wide receiver Brandon Gibson to deals.

The Eagles still have three rookies who were drafted in April that have yet to sign -- wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, running back LeSean McCoy and tight end Cornelius Ingram.

Both Fanaika and Tupou were drafted in the seventh round.

In all of his 11 years as the Eagles coach, Andy Reid couldn't recall an instance when a veteran player that wasn't excused or had a contract squabble attended the first week of organized team activities only to skip the second week.

But that's exactly what cornerback Asante Samuel did when he opted out of this week's OTAs.

"They're not mandatory camps," Reid said to The Inquirer today. "That's the thing. There's nothing I can say on that."

A team spokesman said yesterday that Reid was disappointed. The coach declined to elaborate today.

With Samuel home working out in Florida, according to various reports, the Eagles are without their two starting cornerbacks. Sheldon Brown, who is seeking either a new contract or a trade, is taking advantage of the "voluntary" tag on this minicamp. Aside from Samuel and Brown, every other player is in camp.

Samuel, who signed a six-year, $57.14 million contract last season as a free agent, was by far the most vocal Eagle during last week's four practices. Dimitri Patterson and Joselio Hanson split reps at Samuel's left cornerback spot yesterday.

The Eagles continue OTAs today. Check back for updates.

Asante Samuel decided to take the day off today.

The Eagles' cornerback did not show up for practice at the NovaCare Complex and a team official said he took advantage of the fact that this camp is voluntary.

It's not unusual for a player to skip these voluntary camps, but it's typically done by guys who are unhappy about their contracts such as cornerback Sheldon Brown. Samuel participated in the four practices last week and his absence this morning was quite noticeable because no one can match his vocal presence on the Eagles' defense.

Coach Andy Reid did not make any statement about Samuel's absence, but a team spokesman said the coach was disappointed. The spokesman said he didn't know if Samuel planned to miss the remaining three days of this camp.

If Samuel isn't happy about his contract, the Eagles have a real problem. They signed him as a free agent before last season, giving him a six-year, $57.14 million deal.

You can read more about Samuel's absence in tomorrow's Inquirer.

MCCOY RETURNS. After suffering a sprained left thumb Friday, running back LeSean McCoy returned to practice today.

"It felt good," he said. "They gave me some great treatment this morning. I felt good about it. It wasn't that big of a deal."

Poll: Do you have a problem with Samuel skipping practice? (964 votes)

News flash: the newspaper is shrinking. I may get fired for writing that. Nevertheless, there are often bits and pieces of stories that get cut because of space constraints. That’s where blogs and their infinite hole come in. Here are few leftovers from last week’s reports. This may become a weekly feature once training camp begins. Please contain your enthusiasm.

B-West be hurt

Brian Westbrook has yet to complete a season of playing in every game. The Eagles running back, who underwent surgery on his right ankle on Friday, has missed at least one game in each of his seven seasons in the NFL. As illustrated below, the causes have been for myriad of injuries.

Season      Injury                       Games missed
2008         Ankle/ribs                          2
2007         Abdominal strain                1
2006         Knee                                  1
2005         Foot sprain                         4
2004         Ribs/chest                           3
2003         Torn triceps/ankle sprain     1
2002         Sprained ankle                    1

Better off silent

For someone that rarely talks to the media, Asante Samuel has been a Chatty Katty during this spring's minicamps. He did grace us with a few words last week. In fact, the Eagles cornerback had something to say about the fans. Asked if he heard comments from the peanut gallery after some of his drops of would-be interceptions, Samuel said, “I hear them. They want what they want. They want to win. If they can’t get what they want, they’re not happy.”
Does that mean he understands them better?
“I don’t know if anybody could understand the fans out here,” he said, laughing. "But they're great fans. Real passionate about their sports."

Birds of a feather

DeSean Jackson lost his father, Bill, to pancreatic cancer last month. But the Eagles wide receiver received a lot of support from his team during his father’s battle with the disease. One teammate, in particular, was there for the wide receiver.
Safety Quintin Demps, Jackson’s best friend on the team, had an uncle going through his own fight with pancreatic cancer. Demp’s uncle died a week before Bill Jackson.
“We got to be there for each other,” Demps said. “It humbled him a little bit. You got to realize every day is not promised to you. I could tell it was bothering him a little bit. But he can still come out here [to practice] and get his work done.”