St. Louis Rams: Friday's News, Nuggets and Notes at Noon

Welcome to the pre-weekend edition of the St. Louis Rams "News, Nuggets and Notes at Noon", the one-stop destination for all major Rams updates, headlines and related tidbits.  I am experimenting with a new format today and would greatly appreciate hearing your feedback in that regard.

2012 Free Agency Update:

This morning, there have been conflicting reports regard Tennessee Titans free agent cornerback Cortland Finnegan.  

First, Jason La Canfora of the NFL Network tweeted the following: 

"

Grimes and Branch won't be the only DB to get tagged. 49ers plan to tag S Dashon Goldson and Titans likely to tag CB Courtland Finnegan.

"

A bit later, Adam Schefter of ESPN shared the following tweet which said: 

"

Adam Schefter ‏ @AdamSchefter

Titans will not place their franchise tag on cornerback Cortland Finnegan, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.

"

Considering that Schefter's tweet was sent later and was also more specific, his update would appear to carry more weight on the surface.  

For an updated ranking of who Pro Football Weekly views as the top 100 free agents, check this.  

2012 NFL Draft Update:

St. Louis Rams senior writer Nick Wagoner has prepared a post NFL Combine ranking of the top 32 draft prospects for the rapidly-approaching April 26 NFL Draft at stlouisrams.com.  

Wagoner notes that these rankings are based off of his talks with players, scouts and coaches and is no way reflective of the Rams views regarding these players.  He also states that the aforementioned list is "meant to represent the players with the most talent and in now way reflects a predicted draft order for April". 

Some noticeable rankings include wide receiver Justin Blackmon at six, linebacker Luke Kuechly at seven, defensive tackle Michael Brokers at eight, cornerback Janoris Jenkins at 12, defensive tackle Dontari Poe at 13, wide receiver Michael Floyd at 17, tackle Jonathon Martin at 29 and running back Lamar Miller at 32.

Gil Brandt of nfl.com has updates his top 100 prospect list.  Some of his rankings have changed significantly since the combine as you can see here at nfl.com. 

St. Louis Lease Proposal Rejected by Rams: 

As expected, the Rams rejected the February 1 proposal from the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission yesterday and now have up to two months (until May 1) to present their counterproposal, as reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

In case you missed it, please check my detailed analysis of where the lease issue stands and where I see it headed, along with much more background information and statistical data here. 

For another viewpoint on the aforementioned lease issue, check out Alvin Reid's column at 101sports.com. 

Finally, STL Rams Nation, I want to wish each of you a wonderful weekend.  

Check in tomorrow for my "Weekend Weekend Question and Answer Question."  To add a question, send me a tweet or do so in the comment section below. 

Shane Gray covers the St. Louis Rams year-round. You are encouraged to check out the rest of his work here and to follow him on Twitter.