ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed via Twitter Tuesday evening that Rams unsigned restricted free agent safety O.J. Atogwe is “scheduled to become a free agent at midnight.”
While St. Louis is not known to have given up on contract negotiations, Schefter throws a new team into the bidding. He mentions the Vikings as a possible suitor for the Rams’ 2009 franchise player.
Minnesota has invested in its safety corps, paying free safety Madieu Williams a six-year, $33.75 million deal two offseasons ago and using a 2008 second-round pick on strong safety Tyrell Johnson. Williams, however, didn’t intercept a pass last year, and Johnson has been a liability in pass coverage.
The other possible landing spots Schefter named were Miami and Dallas, which have already been widely rumored.
Despite Tuesday’s season-ending injury to free safety Marlin Jackson, the Eagles will not pursue Atogwe, a team source tells Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.