The Bills' top pick

The Bills' top pick, running back C.J. Spiller, remained without a contract Tuesday, and his holdout continues a recent trend for Buffalo.

Spiller, the ninth overall pick, is one of just two first-round draftees still without a deal. The only other unsigned first-rounder late Tuesday was No. 6 pick Russell Okung of Seattle after No. 2 Ndomakong Suh agreed to terms with Detroit on Tuesday evening.

Last summer, Bills top pick Aaron Maybin was the second-last first-rounder to sign. In 2008, Bills top pick Leodis McKelvin was the fourth last to sign. In 2006, Bills top pick Donte Whitner was third last.

Only Maybin had what could be termed a problematic holdout. He missed 27 days of practice and went on to have an unproductive rookie season. McKelvin missed only the first weekend of practice and was on the field for the first workout in pads. Whitner had an eight-day holdout but still was able to see a lot of action in preseason and started 14 games as a rookie.

Spiller missed his sixth day of practice Tuesday. If he isn't in camp by Saturday, he will have missed more than half of the training camp workouts. That will not be a good thing for a team looking to its top pick to be a significant part of the new offense coach Chan Gailey is installing.

"All I can tell you is we're all still working on it," Bills General Manager Buddy Nix said after Tuesday's practice. "Probably in a couple of days if he doesn't (sign), I will have something to say, but at this point we don't."

Spiller's agent, Gary Wichard, did not return calls from The News on Tuesday. A source familiar with the negotiations said the structure, more than the overall value, of the deal is the crux of the talks.

The general parameters for Spiller's deal are as clear as Donte Whitner  they can be. The eighth overall pick, Oakland's Rolando McClain, signed a five-year contract worth a reported $40 million overall with $23 million guaranteed. The 10th overall pick, Jacksonville's Tyson Alualu, came to terms Monday on a five-year deal worth $28 million with $17.5 million guaranteed.

Split the difference between those two, and Spiller would get $34 million total with $20.25 million guaranteed. There is a bit more of a gap in the deals of the first 10 picks than those taken in the rest of the round.

History indicates the Bills are conservative about committing to their first-round deals. They generally have waited until the players taken just before and after their pick reach a deal before closing their negotiations. They don't commit early at the risk of paying over market value.

Asked if it was too early to make a public announcement about negotiations, Nix said: "Well, it's not too early. It might be late even."

Drafted ninth overall out of Clemson, Spiller is one of three first-round picks who have yet to sign with their respective NFL teams. He's missed eight practices since the Bills opened training camp Thursday, which marks a considerable setback to the new offence first-year head coach Chan Gailey is installing.

Spiller's agent, Gary Wichard, has not returned messages left by The Associated Press.

Gailey and Nix have both spoken highly of Spiller's dynamic play-making ability as a running back and receiver. And Spiller, the ACC's player of the year last season, was already being counted upon to make a significant impact this season after finishing his four-year college career with 51 touchdowns, including 32 rushing.

"It hurts. He did a great job in minicamps. But being here now is a different game," Gailey said. "And it doesn't help anybody. It doesn't help him. It doesn't help us. We hope it gets resolved as soon as we possibly can."

Spiller would be part of a three-back rotation rounded out by Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch, who split the starting duties last season. Gailey has previously indicated that he's open to going with a two-back formation at times to get Spiller involved as much as possible.

Even Bills owner Ralph Wilson, a day after Spiller was drafted, praised the former Clemson standout. Wilson said Spiller was "one of the best players in the country," and someone who could provide a spark to what he called a "dull team." Buffalo's offence has ranked 25th or worst in yards gained in each of the past seven seasons.

Because of his versatility, Spiller has drawn comparisons to New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush. Spiller and Bush are the only two players to finish their college careers with 3,000 yards rushing, 1,500 yards in kickoff returns, 1,000 yards receiving and 500 yards in punt returns.

One potential drawback to talks is the wide gap in money going to the two players drafted immediately before and after Spiller was chosen.

Linebacker Rolando McClain, selected eighth by Oakland, reportedly signed a US$40-million, five-year contract that will guarantee him about $23 million. Defensive tackle Tyson Alualu, drafted 10th by Jacksonville, signed a $28-million contact with $17.5 million guaranteed.

That leaves Spiller in the middle, as rookie NFL contracts are traditionally slotted in descending order of where the player was drafted.

"I don't want to get into that," Nix said, when asked about the gap. "He just hasn't signed."

Nix is in his first year as general manager, taking over in December after Russ Brandon was promoted to chief operating officer.

The Bills have had an inconsistent history in getting their first-round picks signed early in recent years.

Last year, linebacker Aaron Maybin, selected 11th overall out of Penn State, missed 24 practices and three of the Bills five pre-season games by signing nearly a month after training camp opened. Then there was safety Donte Whitner, selected eighth overall in 2006, who missed eight days of camp.