Just over seven months after he announced his retirement from the NFL, cornerback Cortland Finnegan had a workout today with the Patriots, according to Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (Twitter links). New England didn’t sign Finnegan today, but the veteran defensive back remains open to opportunities and is worth monitoring, says Getlin.
Despite the fact that Finnegan announced his retirement in March, the former seventh-round pick hired 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.
Finnegan, 31, was one of the league’s worst cornerbacks in 2013, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. PFF ranked Finnegan 109th out of 110 qualified corners, with a grade of -19.7 in just seven games. As such, it came as a bit of a surprise when Miami inked the former Ram to a two-year, $11MM deal in 2014.
Finnegan was a little better for the Dolphins in 2014, but still placed just 74th out of 108 corners, with a -4.4 grade in 2014, per PFF. Miami released Finnegan before free agency began this year, and the former seventh-round pick retired about a week later.
Any team interested in taking a shot on Finnegan this year would probably have to overlook his 2013 and 2014 numbers, though the veteran defensive back would certainly come cheaper this time around than he has on his last couple contracts.
Couldn’t hurt to check on his viability, considering the revolving door of veterans shuttled in and out of the Patriots’ facilities this year. It’s been incredibly impressive for the Pats to craft a solid secondary after the turnover, but it’s hard to believe such a thin, inexperienced corps won’t cost them at some point this season.