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The St. Louis Rams and free agent cornerback Cortland Finnegan reportedly agreed to a five-year deal worth about $50 million on Tuesday, March 13. The team is expected to front load the contract to pay much of Finnegan’s salary in the first couple seasons.
Finnegan is a perfect fit for the Rams. His strong, physical style is exactly what the Rams need on a defense that often lacked toughness in 2011. Finnegan is a solid (though not spectacular) cover corner who isn’t afraid of contact. He brings instant production to a team in need of both run and pass support. The Rams had too many missed and broken tackles in defensive backfield last season. Finnegan’s arrival will certainly help solve that problem.
Finnegan also brings a mean streak with him. In 2010, Sports Illustrated asked 296 NFL players who they considered to be the league’s dirtiest player. Finnegan finished sixth in the voting and later admitted that he wanted to surpass the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ Hines Ward as the NFL’s dirtiest player.
“It’s a compliment. That’s absolutely a compliment,” Finnegan said in 2010. “He [Ward] was voted the league’s dirtiest player, so you’ve got to give it up for him. For someone to say something as nice as that, I appreciate it. I’m number [six] right now, but I’m aspiring to one day hopefully be No. 1. So, I appreciate it.”
While I admire Finnegan’s tenacity and effort, I’m not sure I want a member of the Rams to be known as the league’s dirtiest player. This is especially the case in light of the recent news surrounding defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and the bounty systems he ran in New Orleans and possibly Washington.
Finnegan isn’t worth $10 million per season. He’s being paid the type of salary that shutdown cornerbacks earn, but he’s not that type of player. However, I also understand that the Rams are going to have to overpay to get players they want right now. Their 15-65 record over the past five years doesn’t give them much credibility with free agents, even though that will change with Jeff Fisher at the helm.
Overall, I think the Rams had to make this deal. Finnegan brings too much of what the Rams defense needs to let him sign with another team. His signing signals a change of attitude in St. Louis, and I’m glad to see it. I can’t wait to see Finnegan in a Rams uniform.
Derek Ciapala has been following the Rams since childhood. He has been published on Yahoo! Sports, Sports Out West and multiple other websites. You can check him out on Facebook or Twitter @dciapala.
(Originally published on Yahoo Sports, March 14, 2012)
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The St. Louis Rams and free agent cornerback Cortland Finnegan reportedly agreed to a five-year deal worth about $50 million on Tuesday, March 13. The team is expected to front load the contract to pay much of Finnegan’s salary in the first couple seasons.
Finnegan is a perfect fit for the Rams. His strong, physical style is exactly what the Rams need on a defense that often lacked toughness in 2011. Finnegan is a solid (though not spectacular) cover corner who isn’t afraid of contact. He brings instant production to a team in need of both run and pass support. The Rams had too many missed and broken tackles in defensive backfield last season. Finnegan’s arrival will certainly help solve that problem.
Finnegan also brings a mean streak with him. In 2010, Sports Illustrated asked 296 NFL players who they considered to be the league’s dirtiest player. Finnegan finished sixth in the voting and later admitted that he wanted to surpass the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ Hines Ward as the NFL’s dirtiest player.
“It’s a compliment. That’s absolutely a compliment,” Finnegan said in 2010. “He [Ward] was voted the league’s dirtiest player, so you’ve got to give it up for him. For someone to say something as nice as that, I appreciate it. I’m number [six] right now, but I’m aspiring to one day hopefully be No. 1. So, I appreciate it.”
While I admire Finnegan’s tenacity and effort, I’m not sure I want a member of the Rams to be known as the league’s dirtiest player. This is especially the case in light of the recent news surrounding defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and the bounty systems he ran in New Orleans and possibly Washington.
Finnegan isn’t worth $10 million per season. He’s being paid the type of salary that shutdown cornerbacks earn, but he’s not that type of player. However, I also understand that the Rams are going to have to overpay to get players they want right now. Their 15-65 record over the past five years doesn’t give them much credibility with free agents, even though that will change with Jeff Fisher at the helm.
Overall, I think the Rams had to make this deal. Finnegan brings too much of what the Rams defense needs to let him sign with another team. His signing signals a change of attitude in St. Louis, and I’m glad to see it. I can’t wait to see Finnegan in a Rams uniform.
Derek Ciapala has been following the Rams since childhood. He has been published on Yahoo! Sports, Sports Out West and multiple other websites. You can check him out on Facebook or Twitter @dciapala.
(Originally published on Yahoo Sports, March 14, 2012)
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