2012 NFL Free Agents: Titans Prepared to Let Cortland Finnegan Walk

Not only did the Tennessee Titans decide to use their franchise tag on free safety Michael Griffin Monday as opposed to cornerback Cortland Finnegan, but it appears that the team has no real interest in retaining the six-year veteran's services, as the Nashville Tennessean reports that the Titans will not be making Finnegan a contract offer before free agency begins on March 13th.

For his part, Finnegan appears to be somewhat taken aback by the Titans apparent lack of interest, but as Finnegan told The Tennessean, he's ready to move on to the next stage of his professional career.

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It is bittersweet, For six years I played in the Titans organization. I am grateful and humbled that the Titans took a chance on me and the way they matured me over the years. But they wanted to move on. … I don’t know why, and I don’t know what else a guy could do career-wise and in the community. But that’s part of the business, and you have to move on. I’ll have great memories of my time with the Titans. It just didn’t work out.

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Finnegan is reportedly seeking a deal in excess of the the five-year, $48.5 million contract cornerback Johnathan Joseph signed with the Texans a year ago, and while the Tennessee front office has apparently decided to balk at that price tag, there should be any number of teams knocking on Finnegan's door come next week.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals are both sitting on a significant amount of cap space and have a need at the cornerback position, and while the Dallas Cowboys, St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions may not have the cap room that the Bengals or Buccaneers do, their need to upgrade their defensive backfields will almost certainly lead them to at the very least see if they could potentially shoehorn Finnegan into their rosters.

Cornerback is a premium position in today's National Football League, and while Cortland Finnegan may not be the best cover corner available in this year's free agent crop, he is capable in that regard and excels at run support, so there should be no shortage of interest in the former Samford standout.

I think it's safe to say we won't be seeing Cortland Finnegan checking receipts in the entryway of a Nashville Walmart anytime soon.

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