When CBA Gets Settled, Plenty of Safeties Will Be Available

Filed under: Rams, Texans, NFL Free Agency

When it comes to the draft, safeties often are afterthoughts. This weekend, several teams made it clear that it's not much different when it comes to free agency.

Bob Sanders was the biggest name, but a pair of other veteran safeties are also looking for work as the Texans released Eugene Wilson and the Rams cut O.J. Atogwe.

Both Wilson and Atogwe were full-time starters in 2010. Wilson, 30, has been a starter whenever he's been healthy throughout his eight-year NFL career, but it's understandable that the Texans may be looking to go in a different direction after fielding a disastrous pass defense last year. Wilson is one of the players who could be hurt by a possible lockout. If there is no agreement until just before the season, Wilson is the kind of second-level free agent who will have to scramble for a job.

Atogwe has been a starter for the last five years for the Rams, and he was the team's franchise player in 2009 (he went back to being a restricted free agent in 2010 because of the collective bargaining agreement). But Atogwe's deal was structured to likely lead to his release -- he had an $8 million roster bonus payable if he wasn't cut loose. Atogwe will attract some significant interest in free agency, but, like Wilson and everyone else, the uncertainty of what the salary cap rules will be under the new CBA will make it hard for him to get a new deal anytime soon.

 

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Source: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2011/02/20/when-cba-gets-settled-plenty-of-safeties-will-be-available/

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