3:35pm: Breer hears (Twitter link) that the Dolphins’ deal with Finnegan, which the team has now announced, could be worth close to $11MM over two years.
3:24pm: The Dolphins and Finnegan have reached an agreement on a two-year deal, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.
2:55pm: The Dolphins are finalizing a two-year contract agreement with defensive back Cortland Finnegan, reports Albert Breer of the NFL Network (via Twitter). Finnegan was released by the Rams earlier this week.
Finnegan, whose 2013 season was cut short by a fractured orbital bone, was one of the league’s worst corners even before the injury, according to Pro Football Focus advanced metrics (subscription required). PFF ranked Finnegan 109th out of 110 qualified corners, with a grade of -19.7 in just seven games. A longtime starter for the Titans, the former seventh-round pick was named to the All-Pro first team in 2008, but has seen his production fall off in recent years. He became a cap casualty in St. Louis, with the Rams removing a chunk of his $10MM cap number from their books by cutting him.
Two of the Dolphins’ top cornerbacks were eligible for free agency this offseason, and while the team re-signed Brent Grimes, it saw Nolan Carroll head to Philadelphia. Dimitri Patterson was also released for cap purposes, so Miami may look to add at least one more cornerback through free agency or the draft.