What about Bob?

Pete Kendall is in a very ticklish situation these days … and no, we’re not talking about the fact he’s unhappy with his contract and has asked to be traded or released.

It’s over the issue of whether the Jets have violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement by allowing too much contact during off-season workouts and/or mini-camps.

So why would Kendall, the Jets’ disgruntled guard, be any more conflicted about this situation than his teammates? Well, Kendall is the Jets’ player representative, and as such, he’s responsible for reporting to the NFL Players Association if there’s too much hitting in practice. The question now is whether he’s willing to blow the whistle on a team that is not budging on his request to add $1 million to his 2007 salary of $1.7 million.

We saw for ourselves during mini-camp practice that the Jets were involved in some pretty significant physical contact during some drills – the defensive linemen were rushing pretty hard and being blocked by the offensive linemen, even though the Jets were dressed in just helmets, jerseys and shorts, with no shoulder pads. Technically, this is a no-no when it comes to the off-season rules regarding contact, although many teams routinely ignore the “no contact” edict.

Here’s how the union handles it, according to NFLPA spokesman Carl Francis:

“When we get information like this, we call the player rep and talk to him about what’s been going on,” Francis said. “If he feels like that’s a violation, we launch an investigation.”

Francis was uncertain when or even if the union would contact Kendall, but there’s a chance it will happen. And what Kendall would do with any information is unclear. Kendall did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

If Kendall does decide to lodge a complaint, it’ll be interesting to see how the Jets respond. We’ve been told through a team spokesman that general manager Mike Tannenbaum and head coach Eric Mangini are not commenting on our initial report that the Jets may have violated the CBA by allowing contact.

The Raiders last week were slapped with a one-week sanction on off-season workouts because of too much contact. The Jets’ off-season workouts are complete, so any penalty would essentially be moot. But the team is subject to a fine, and if it’s determined that the violations have been rampant, a draft choice might be forfeited.

Francis said that if the union feels a complaint is warranted, it will ask the team for film of practice in a written correspondence, a copy of which goes to the NFL office.

If we hear anything further on this, we’ll let you know.