Derwin James Only Cared About Practicing After Record Chargers Contract, Agent Says

Practice. We're talking about practice.

Derwin James signed a massive four-year, $76.4 million contract extension on Wednesday that made him the highest-paid safety in the NFL. But according to his agent, David Mulugheta, James was more excited about returning to practice than he was about the payday:

The 26-year-old James had reported to training camp while he negotiated an extension with the Chargers but had been a "hold-in," participating in some individual drills but missing 14 practices.

Clearly, he missed being on the practice field with his teammates. No surprise from the player who Chargers head coach Brandon Staley described as a "our signal-caller and the heartbeat of our defense."

Staley isn't worried about James missing those practices, either, telling reporters, "there is no one that has more pride in his performance and his ability to be in shape, mentally and physically, to do the job at the highest level than him."