NFL: O.J Atogwe returns to St. Louis Rams for an estimated $7 million
O.J Atogwe’s stint as an unrestricted free agent has come to end. The St. Louis Rams are picking up Atogwe again. Earlier this month the St. Louis Rams had decided not to offer approximately 7 million dollars to Atogwe. The Rams needed Atogwe, who played for the Rams for all five years of his career, in their defensive line up. Signing him again is an important win for the St. Louis Rams. They just couldn’t lose a valuable player like him while in the process of rebuilding a franchise.
The young Quarterback on the Rams squad needs Atogwe on his side. The plays he has made for the Rams were invaluable. Even though Atogwe finished the 2009 season after 12 games due to a shoulder injury, with 82 tackles, one sack and two interceptions, he still finished the season second on his team. His worth to the St. Louis Rams is undeniable.
But it’s not just the Rams that could use Atogwe’s skills. 19 interception and 14 forced fumbles in 72 game career means Atogwe is not a name to be forgotten. As soon as he entered his unrestricted free agency he must have found freedom overrated. For all his value as a player, no team brought Atogwe for a visit. Interest shown in this remarkable free safety through his almost 4 weeks as an unrestricted free agent was, to an extent, less than expected. Granted his numbers were lower than before but they were still excellent numbers. Or maybe his previous injuries, one that knocked him out of 4 games, were a concern for franchises? Was he asking too high a price for himself? Or was it simply that the Rams were showing just too much interest in him, more than everyone else? Who knows, but the fact that so little interest was shown in Atogwe must have left him wondering.
Money was certainly a factor. When he hit the market, as many as 8 teams were making a push for Atogwe. The interest in him slowly faded though. It can’t be said with certainty if the other teams that backed out were concerned about Atogwe’s ability, satisfied with their own rosters or unwilling to bring him in for the asking price. But the Detroit Lions, it can safely be said, backed out for financial reasons.
The Lions were in desperate need for a free safety position on their defence and Atogwe fit the bill. The Lions showed a serious interest in him but stopped short of making a big push. According to league sources, the turn off was Atogwe’s extremely high salary demands. The Lions needed and wanted Atogwe, to complement Louis Delma on one safety position, on their roster but simply weren’t willing to pay the asking price. Perhaps if Atogwe had reduced his demands I would have been writing about the Lions signing him instead of the Rams. But for now the story is Atogwe’s return to the Rams uniform and signing a contract for 5 years with them.
Atogwe got what he was looking for. After signing the contract he said that he was excited to be going back to the Rams and that he was “at peace”. The process, he said was “long and drawn out” but needed to be so to ensure the right decisions were made, which Atogwe believed were indeed made.
It wasn’t just his plays that made him so attractive to the Rams, or at least that’s what their Coach, Steve Spagnuolo told the press. “We look forward to having his leadership, character and talent back on our defense”, he said.
Atogwe, in his 5 years, had created a sort of affiliation with the team, the coach and management. This relationship aided and was reflected in the contract negotiations. “I believe we had a very cordial and respectful negotiation process”, Ategwo attested.
With the contract concluded, Atogwe and the Rams can focus on the game as training begins by the end of July. This would be Atogwe’s sixth season with the Rams. “This is where I am supposed to be”, Atogwe said.
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