NFL

LEON’S BOYCOTT MIGHT BE OVER

There appears to be a thaw in the Jets-Leon Washington contract impasse.

Washington, who’s been boycotting the first in a series of organized team activities (OTAs) because he’s unhappy with how the negotiations for a new contract have been going, might soon return to the OTAs. His agent, Alvin Keels, yesterday posted a message on his Twitter account that made it sound as if he and the Jets are on a better track toward coming up with a new deal for Washington.

JETS BLOG

“Positive talk with the Jets today,” Keels stated on his Twitter account yesterday. “Jets fans, everything will be fine. Myself and Mike T [Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum] will put our heads together and continue to work.”

This came one day after Keels posted a tough-luck message on Twitter, saying he wanted to get Washington back into camp but this is “a business.”

Members of Jets management were rattled by Washington’s decision to stay away from OTAs, according to sources inside their Florham Park facility because Washington always has been a solid citizen and team leader.

Keels didn’t say when Washington would return to the OTAs, but his tone suggested that as long as the negotiations were moving along, his client would be back soon. Reporters have access to the locker room in between OTA sessions today, so it’ll be interesting to see if Washington has returned and what he has to say.

Washington, an all-purpose threat on offense and special teams, is believed to be seeking a deal that’ll pay him some $5 million a year with guaranteed money in the $17.5 million neighborhood that Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew got in a recent deal.

Washington is due to earn $535,000 in 2009, the final season of his original four-year contract — vastly underpaid for his value.

Thomas Jones, who also wants a new contract, has been boycotting all team activities this offseason. He’s entering the third year of a four-year front-loaded contract worth $20 million. As the AFC rushing champion last season, Jones wants a new deal, but the Jets are more likely to lock up a new deal with the dynamic, 26-year-old Washington.

mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com