The Carolina Panthers will begin arriving today at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., for the start of training camp but there's growing chance they may be without their two first-round draft picks.

   I made contact with general manager Marty Hurney around 6 p.m.and here's what he had to say about the negotiations with Stewart and Otah: "Nothing is going on. We're still talking. We don't have anything to report right now. We'll keep talking."

   Hurney emphasized that the team will continue negotiating with the agents for both players, so that means this thing could stretch into the wee hours of the morning. The Panthers are hoping to avoid a holdout like the one they endured with last year's first-round draft pick Jon Beason.

   Stewart, the 13th pick, and Otah, the 19th pick, have until Saturday morning to sign before being considered "holdouts."

   Along with packing tonight for a week-long stay in Spartanburg (let's see, Shorts. Check. Golf shirts. Check. Sunglasses. Check. Suntain lotion...), I will be following the negotiations closely and will keep you updated if anything breaks.

   UPDATE: Here's an early morning update for you. As of shortly after midnight, no deals have been reached. The Pantehrs will try again Friday. it's not unusual for these things to come down to the wire under hte current regime. In fact, it seems every year we're talking about unsigned draft picks on the eve of training camp. However, they almost always seem to get done in time, with the exception of last year.