Some quick notes before calling it quits for the night here in Spartanburg, S.C.

   After taking some shots at the Carolina Panthers and their negotiating techniques, Michael Huyghue, the agent for holdout linebacker Jon Beason, backed off some of his statements. On Monday night, after a story ran on the AP wire in which he painted the Panthers in a not-so-flattering light, Huyghue told me, "There's no sense talking anymore about it. We need to be positive and work to get a deal done."

   He did say the Panthers had taken an early offer to Beason that included a two-tier signing bonus off the table.

   That's not nearly as harsh as his comments to the Associated Press earlier in the day in which Huyghue took advantage of a large readership audience to make his point clear. He feels like the Panthers haven't negotiated in good faith. (Read more about that in Tuesday's paper).

   Anyway, the bottom line is nothing is done and Panthers GM Marty Hurney said he doesn't expect anything to get done in the near future. Clearly, a holdout benefits no one and the two sides probably both need to give a little and get this thing done. I'm sure it will eventually get done. It's just a matter of when. My guess it will get done in the next week or so.

   At practice, defensive end Stanley McClover injured his right elbow, but later returned to practice.

   Also, wide receiver Steve Smith beat Ken Lucas and safety help from Nate Salley for a lengthy touchdown pass. He celebrated by throwing the ball up into the air.

   The Panthers are back at it on Tuesday at 3:10 p.m.