Eagles Notes: Lurie says Eagles won't negotiate with Jackson during holdout

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie sees Michael Vick quarterbacking the Eagles for some time and said Thursday that he has "high hopes" for DeSean Jackson. But he reiterated the team's policy of not giving contract extensions to players holding out.

"I'm not going to talk publicly about any of the dealings with him, but it's all positive, and we look forward to DeSean being here and working things out in a great way going forward," Lurie said in his annual state-of-the-team news conference.

Lurie wouldn't discuss details of Jackson's contract situation. But asked if it was still team policy to refuse to give extensions to players not in training camp, Lurie said: "That's been our philosophy consistently, yes."

The comment indicates that Jackson will have to show up at Lehigh before any deals can get done to improve his contract. Jackson also risks losing credit for a year toward free agency if he does not report to camp by Tuesday.

Vick, meanwhile, is in camp and could be an Eagle for a long time.

"Michael is healthy and in his prime, and I'm looking forward to having Michael for many, many years," Lurie said.

Extending Vick's contract would decrease his salary-cap impact this year and perhaps free up money to give Jackson a new deal. As of Friday, though, the Eagles were already under the cap.

"We have the capability of making more moves," Lurie said. "We always try to allow some cap room between now and the point where you can't use it anymore because injuries happen in this league, and you've got to be prepared."

The latest setback to Victor Abiamiri's injury-riddled career could be career-threatening.

The Eagles defensive end tore his right Achilles tendon Wednesday and was placed on injured reserve Thursday, thus ending his season. Abiamiri was trying to come back from February 2010 microfracture knee surgery that caused him to miss all of last season.

During the offseason, he said he was 100 percent recovered from the operation and vowed to contribute to the Eagles even though he had played in only 29 games in his first four seasons. He played mostly at defensive tackle early in camp but ran with a hitch.

Selected in the second round of the 2007 draft, Abiamiri played in only six games as a rookie. In 2008, he missed the first five games with a dislocated wrist, then sat out the last two games with a Lisfranc foot sprain. He missed three games in 2009 because of a knee injury, one that eventually required surgery.

"Injuries are part of the game; unfortunately, it's happened to me more than most," Abiamiri said in May. "I'm sure some people have written me off. What's important is that I haven't written myself off."

A message left with Abiamiri's agent, Sean Kiernan, was not returned.

The Eagles lost another defensive end when Ricky Sapp left training camp for unknown reasons. The Eagles placed the second-year player on the reserve/left squad list. Sapp left camp last year for a half-day but returned.

Drafted in the fifth round, he spent his rookie season on injured reserve after he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in August.

Jeremy Maclin participated in a light workout for the second straight day after reporting to camp a week late. The wide receiver was excused because of an illness that the team has yet to reveal. Eagles coach Andy Reid said that Maclin's medical testing was still being evaluated.

Winston Justice is still on the physically-unable-to-perform list as he continues to rehabilitate his knee.

The tackle underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in February. Reid was asked Wednesday why Justice wasn't ready to practice even though his surgery was considered not serious. The coach said Justice's role as the team's union representative took away from his rehab.

"I wasn't really one of the reps that were in Washington, D.C., for negotiations," Justice said. "The only thing I had to do was call probably once a week. So, no, I don't think it really affected it at all."

The Eagles released receiver Jeremy LaFrance.