Talks between Ravens, Reed could get sticky

Team officials still hold out hope that Ed Reed will be in camp on time, but the perennial Pro Bowl safety keeps making noises about not reporting, primarily because of his contract.

Reed is in the final season of his deal, a six-year extension worth $40 million signed in 2006, and is scheduled for a $7.2 million base salary.

The problem: Reed will be 34 less than two weeks into the season and, despite some public protests from coach John Harbaugh abut the 10-year veteran's play in 2011, the consensus seems to be that his performance slipped a bit.

Plus, there are some injury issues, and the Ravens don't want to invest too much money for too many years for a guy who has flirted with retirement talk the last two seasons.