Late Start Won’t Hurt Chargers’ O’Neal : Football: Pro Bowl linebacker ends holdout in time for team to prepare a defense that was built, in part, around him.

Linebacker Leslie O’Neal’s presence Monday afternoon at Chargers training camp made a believer out of Coach Dan Henning.

O’Neal ended his holdout and signed a two-year contract to become the 78th player to sign with the Chargers. Only Junior Seau, San Diego’s first-round draft pick, remains unsigned.

But in the morning, when O’Neal was expected at practice and proved to be a no-show, Henning explained his absence as a supernatural experience.

“There’s a movie downtown called ‘Ghost,’ ” Henning said. “So far, he’s been one. We’re all looking forward to seeing big Leslie. Funny, you wouldn’t think we’d be interested in seeing a guy with a girl’s name, but in this case. . . .”

In this case, you’re talking about a player who went to the 1989 Pro Bowl--as a backup and in a new position--in his first full season after a debilitating knee injury kept him out for 23 months and almost cut short his career.

O’Neal took a routine team physical in the morning, went through a two-hour afternoon practice, and joked that he hadn’t gotten in 18 holes of golf before his first day back.

Despite having to play catch-up, O’Neal said the late start actually will work in his favor by keeping him more focused.

“I’ll be working hard for two weeks and then here comes the season,” he said. “I won’t get the soreness or pounding like you get the first couple of weeks, but it’s a more expedient time. I can concentrate, and not be thinking about getting through training camp.”

Defensive coordinator Ron Lynn said there’s still enough time to prepare a defense that was built, in part, around O’Neal, but he would have started to squirm had O’Neal held out much longer.

“A large part of it,” Lynn said, “was that we were practicing those things without the benefit of having him here. Not only did his absence hurt in terms of him not getting the work that was necessary, it also slows down and retards the development of the guys that play next to him.”

Had he not shown when he did, O’Neal’s role might have been temporarily reduced.

“We would have probably had to throw some of those tactical things out the window,” Lynn said, “or at least reduce his involvement in them until we had a chance to get him back and he had a chance to get back his timing.”

And O’Neal wasn’t immune to the grief reserved for the players who hold out because of salary disputes.

“There was a little,” O’Neal said. “But it all goes down when you start playing. It happened my rookie year. When you sit out a while everyone’s looking at you so you have to come out and play tougher the first day. You try to get that respect back, because to a certain extent people lose respect because you’re gone away or they don’t see you every day.”

While Henning said he didn’t see enough of O’Neal on his first day back and didn’t know if he will start this Saturday against the 49ers, Lynn said he’s still a starter.

“There’s no question who the starter is and what his position is,” Lynn said. “It’s just a matter of how soon he can get through the bumps and bruises and nicks that go with the first three days of carrying your pads. . . . and how fast his body will respond and get over the muscle soreness.”

O’Neal sidestepped inquiries about his salary, said he didn’t know how well-paid he is compared to his teammates, but said he was happy.

“I wasn’t as happy with base salary,” O’Neal said, “but the good thing is I have a two-year deal. I get a chance to hone my skills for the next two years, and hopefully (General Manager Bobby) Beathard and this organization will stay intact and they can see what I can do on the field. It makes it easier the next time it comes around.”

What they reached, according to O’Neal, was a compromise.

“It was them saying we’ll give you a base salary and then you can achieve the other things what you want through incentives,” he said.