NFL | Rams RB Jackson ends his holdout

His 27-day holdout over, it is back to work for Steven Jackson, the St. Louis Rams' Pro Bowl running back. By the time Jackson arrived in St. Louis late Wednesday night, his contract extension was all but a done deal.

"In principle, it's agreed to," Jackson said.

The Rams will try to get Jackson up to speed in time for the Sept. 7 regular-season opener against Philadelphia.

"It will be a challenge physically more than mentally," St. Louis coach Scott Linehan said. "It would be different [mentally] if he were a rookie, but he's familiar with the offense from his participation in the offseason program."

Jackson's agent, Eugene Parker, informed the Rams on Wednesday afternoon that Jackson had agreed to report to Rams Park as a show of good faith in contract negotiations.

With the nearly monthlong stalemate over, Parker and Jay Zygmunt, Rams president of football operations and general manager, worked through the afternoon and into the evening on a contract extension.

"We're glad he's coming in, and we look forward to him being a Ram for a long time, and getting a deal done," Zygmunt said of Jackson.

According to sources, the Rams offered a seven-year, $50 million extension in July, a deal that included $17 million in guaranteed money.

The final numbers might not be dramatically different. Sources familiar with the negotiations said it was more a matter of how the dollars would be structured in the final contract.

Jackson is believed to have wanted more guaranteed money, more money in the first four years of the contract and incentives and/or escalators that could increase the back end of the deal if he performed at a high level in the earlier years of the contract.

Jackson, 25, is entering the final year of a five-year, $7 million deal he signed as a first-round pick from Oregon State in 2004. He has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of the past three seasons.

Because of the risk of injury, second contracts are particularly important to players.

"Especially for a running back," Jackson said.

Notes

• Philadelphia receiver Kevin Curtis, 30, is expected to miss significant time because of a sports hernia. Curtis is to have surgery today.

• Denver's Tom Nalen, 37, a five-time Pro Bowl center, needs another operation on his left knee. Surgery in June failed to put him back on the field without pain.

• Buffalo quarterback Trent Edwards has a swollen bruise above his right kneecap, which forced him to miss practice, a day after the he collided with running back Marshawn Lynch.

Walking with a noticeable limp, Edwards said he was relieved the injury to his lower right quadriceps wasn't as severe as he initially feared, but added he is not sure whether he will play in Buffalo's third exhibition game, at Indianapolis on Sunday. Buffalo opens its regular season at home Sept. 7 against the Seahawks.

• Quarterback Derek Anderson and five Cleveland teammates did not practice and aren't expected to play in an exhibition against the Detroit Lions on Saturday.

Anderson was out with a concussion he suffered when defensive end Osi Umenyiora sacked him early in the second quarter of Monday's 37-34 loss to the New York Giants. Running back Jamal Lewis (hamstring), receiver Braylon Edwards (foot), kick returner Joshua Cribbs (ankle), safety Brodney Pool (concussion) and linebacker Willie McGinest (groin) also didn't practice.

• San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman had his knee examined in Alabama after lingering soreness kept him out of practice for more than a week. Merriman underwent surgery to repair cartilage damage five months ago but has had persistent pain in the knee during training camp. He traveled to Birmingham to have the knee looked at by James Andrews, the surgeon who performed the operation.

"When he's been able to practice and move around, he's looked awfully good to me," Chargers coach Norv Turner said of Merriman.

• Dallas coach Wade Phillips said cornerback Adam Jones, a former Tennessee Titan who missed the 2007 season while serving a league suspension and has not yet been reinstated for the regular season, will start in Friday's exhibition home opener against Houston.