Right guard Logan Mankins, the team's first-round draft pick in April, has a deal reported to be worth $6.4 million and will be in training camp from the start.

01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, July 26, 2005

BY TOM E. CURRAN
Journal Sports Writer

There are things Ben Watson has that Logan Mankins never will.

The ability to run the 40 in less than 4.5 seconds. The opportunity to catch passes in NFL games. A chance to go in motion.

But there's one thing Watson won't ever have that Mankins does. A five-year rookie contract.

Mankins, the Patriots' first-round pick in April's draft, signed a five-year deal reported to be worth $6.4 million. That means the Patriots' presumptive starter at right guard this season is in camp with his fellow rookies and will be good to go when camp opens for real with the veterans on Friday morning.

Watson had a protracted holdout last season after his agent, Tom Condon, proclaimed he wouldn't allow one of his rookie first-round clients to sign a deal that would keep him out of free agency for six years. Condon insisted on -- at worst -- a five-year contract. The Patriots stuck to their six-year demand until Condon and Watson split up. The tight end -- also a 32nd overall pick -- ultimately agreed to a six-year contract under new representation. Watson wound up with a $7.5-million deal.

Why the change this year? For one thing, without a new collective bargaining agreement in place, teams aren't able to spread bonus money out past four years. That's one reason first-rounders have been slow to sign this year. They're not going to get appreciably more money than players selected in the same spot last year.

Another possible reason the Pats gave Mankins a five-year deal may have been to get the rookie into camp on time. If he is to start on opening day, he will need all 44 days of preparation between Friday and the opener against the Raiders at home on Sept. 8. Or it may be as simple as how you ask for what you want. Condon made his opposition to six-year rookie deals a cause celebre. Mankins' agent, Frank Bauer, never returned a call throughout negotiations with the Patriots.

Whatever the case, New England became the first team to sign all of its 2005 picks, and the first team to sew up its first-rounder.

Practices for the rookie class began yesterday. Some rehabbing veterans and a few who wanted to get a jump on things are already trickling in, as well. The rest of the veterans are due to report Thursday.

With temperatures expected to soar today and tomorrow, the Patriots rookies will be dipped into the cauldron of NFL training camp immediately.

There's no access for fans or media until Friday. The Patriots open their preseason Aug. 12 at Cincinnati.