With Charles Tillman out of action for the last two games, the Panthers have been a little short-handed in the secondary, and are searching for some potential help for their slot cornerback spot. A day after a Thanksgiving win over the Cowboys, Carolina brought in several free agent corners, including Cortland Finnegan, as Bill Voth of the Black and Blue Review details.
Despite the fact that Finnegan announced his retirement in March, the former seventh-round pick hired agent Drew Rosenhaus in the summer, and suggested he was open to an NFL return. At the time, Rosenhaus said that he was “working on teams” for Finnegan, who indicated a willingness to play either cornerback or safety. The 31-year-old has since auditioned for the Patriots.
In addition to working out Finnegan, the Panthers also brought in veteran cornerbacks Bradley Fletcher and Robert McClain for tryouts, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
Fletcher, who appeared in 71 games (54 starts) over six seasons for the Rams and Eagles, started the 2015 season in New England, but was released by the Patriots in October. McClain was also a Patriot before becoming a free agent, having been let go by Bill Belichick and company at the end of the preseason.
With no reports of signings yet, it appears the Panthers may just be getting the lay of the land for now, with an eye toward identifying the veteran cornerbacks they like in case it becomes necessary to add one.
Finnegan was among the worst CBs in the league during his last several seasons, and I can’t imagine his skills have suddenly bounced back during his time off. McClain and Fletcher are far from ideal solutions–after all, most corners with a pulse are on NFL rosters already–but they’re better options than Finnegan at this point.
Well, no not really 12ish weeks in the free agent pool is kind of gone at the moment