There hasn’t been any news today on free agent safety O.J. Atogwe, and no news is good news to Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo, who says he’s still hoping Atogwe stays in St. Louis.
“I am very, very hopeful,” Spagnuolo said Tuesday, per Steve Wyche of NFL.com. “I am doing this [crossing his fingers] and I’m on my knees all the time hoping that this thing works out.”
Although the Rams made Atogwe a free man rather than increasing his tender offer to nearly $7 million, Spagnuolo said that’s not an indication that the team wants to move on without him.
“Our hope all along was to try and get a deal done with O.J. to keep him on the Rams,” Spagnuolo said. “We want him to stay here, and I think he wants to be here. It’s ongoing and we’re very, very hopeful.”
Atogwe has now been free for a week, and the Rams are the only team saying publicly that they want to sign him. That seems like a good sign that Spagnuolo will get his man -- and that Atogwe won’t benefit from a bidding war for his services.