Woke up Tuesday frantically trying to get everything done early morning.  I had to gear up for what was supposed to be a historic crazy day of free agency.  Dozens of players were supposed to be signed and the big names, Kevin Kolb and Nnamdi Asomugha, supposedly had their ducks all in a row just waiting for the “go” signal.

9:01 am CT comes and…. meh.  What happened to the Twitter frenzy?  What, no fail whale?  I have to say it was kind of a let down.  Quite anti-climatic for the most part as far as the signings were concerned.  The entire day has passed and both big names have yet to make any waves.

The bigger news came from teams letting players go to make salary cap room.

Bloody Tuesday…

Giants announce half their offensive line would not be brought back - Shaun O’Hara, Rich Seubert, and Shawn Andrews will have to seek employment elsewhere.  Any guesses as to whether Spags would bring in some of his old guys?

The Ravens weren’t lacking in their cutting skills either.  WR Derrick Mason, TE Todd Heap, RB Willis McGahee and DT Kelly Gregg were among today’s body count.  Although, I do hear rumblings that Mason and Heap might have their contracts restructured and brought back if possible.

Other notable cuts from Jerry’s World include WR Roy Williams, RB Marion Barber, and OL Mark Colombo.

Of course, these cuts and waives don’t become official until Thursday.

So, who are the Rams’ newest additions and salary cap casualties on day one post-lockout?

Making A Big Splash

O.J. Atogwe, who?  In a somewhat surprising move by Billy Devaney, the Rams have agreed on a four-year, $28M contract with former Eagles 8-year veteran safety, Quintin Mikell.

Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo knows Mikell from his days as Philadephia’s DB/LB coach.

Mikell was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Eagles back in 2003 and has played his entire career with in Philadelphia.  He made his only Pro Bowl appearance in 2009.  Mikell finished last season only missing one game and accumulating 88 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, and 3 INT’s.

Gregg Rosenthal report sums up Quintin Mikell’s contract the best.

Auf Wiedersehen

As I posted earlier today, LB Larry Grant tweeted the following:

He had a sense that his time was up in St. Louis and knew he was about to move on.  Larry Grant was picked up late in the 2008 season.

Undrafted Free Agents

One area where things moved fast and furious was last night when teams were able to talk to and agree in principle with undrafted free agents.  The Rams weren’t out at the start of the gun but made pretty good progress at the night went on.

Here are the eleven UDFA’s they picked up:

1. Taylor Potts – QB Texas Tech
2. Dionte Dinkins – CB Fort Valley State
3. Arthur Thomas – DT Arkansas-Pine Bluff
4. Bryant Browning – OG Ohio State University
5. Schuylar Oordt – TE Northern Iowa
6. Randell Hunt – OG Illinois
7. Travon Bellamy – CB Illinois
8. Beau Warren – C Virginia Tech
9. Karri Kuutila – OT Lock Haven
10. Pete Fleps – LB Southern Methodist
11. Eddie Wide – RB Utah

I don’t know much about Eddie Wide but his signing doesn’t strike me as an answer to the “Who’s Steven Jackson’s backup” question.  Hopefully, the next few days will produce a better, more proven answer.  I hear Reggie Bush is available.

That was day one in a nutshell.  So much to cover and so little time.  Let’s see what’s in store for today!