Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Rashean Mathis and several teammates took batting practice before the Jacksonville Suns game on Friday night. Afterwards, Mathis discussed his absence and contract situation with Jeff Elliott of the Florida Times-Union.

"A workout is a workout," Mathis said. "I've been doing this a long time. I'm not a rookie. I know what it takes to get my body right. Right now the practices are voluntary. There's nothing that says I have to be there. As long as the guys that I play with know where I stand, and they know where I'm going to be, come game day. I'll be ready then, that's all that matters."

Mathis is looking to re-do the two-years and $8.5 million dollars remaining on the five-year, $25.5 million dollar contract extension Mathis signed in 2005, his third season in the NFL. Mathis did not indicate whether or not he'd skip training camp, but sounds as though he's planning on being in the starting lineup.

"If they plan on having me there, then I plan on being there," Mathis said. "Like I said, it's the business side of it. We're all businessmen. We're not just football players. We're businessmen as well. We have careers. We have families that we have to take care of as well. I'm going to do my part to be there."

Mathis, who turns 30 in August, remains a productive player, with seven of his 28 career interceptions coming during the last two seasons, as have two of his three returns for touchdowns. However, Mathis has missed ten games over the last two seasons due to knee (2008) and groin (2009) injuries, and those injuries, along with his age, hurt his leverage when demanding a new contract. Jacksonville may not be inclined to address Mathis' contract, since only 12 cornerbacks in the NFL will earn more than the $3.95 million dollars Mathis is slated to make this season.

As a businessman, Mathis may have no choice but to live with the business decision he made in 2005, when he took some guaranteed money ($9.5M) to sign a long-term extension, even though he had one season remaining on his rookie contract. Mathis is still slated to make reasonable salaries, but the newly married cornerback has nothing guaranteed to protect against the injuries that have dogged him the last two seasons.