Rams sign Quintin Mikell

In the wake of Philadelphia's announcement that they were signing none of their unrestricted free agents, the Rams have made a move to fill the hole O.J. Atogwe's departure left in the secondary, reaching an agreement today to sign 30-year-old Eagles safety Quintin Mikell to a 4-year, $28 million deal which should become official on Friday.

Mikell arguably is coming off a career year. He led the Eggles in tackles and posted career highs in pass breakups (15) and interceptions (3). Pro Football Focus graded him out as the #1 cover safety in the league last season and rated him the #1 free agent safety, as did the prestigious RamView blog. He's great against the run and the pass and is just about the perfect fit here. He has 8 INTs the last three seasons and has averaged about 90 tackles a year over that time. He also recovered three fumbles last season, returning one for a TD. Mikell was in the Pro Bowl in 2009 and was named 2nd-team all-NFL in 2008 and 2010.

Jim Thomas also points out that Mikell was a two-time Eggles special teams MVP and has only missed two games in his career. Steve Spagnuolo worked with him as (I believe) Philadelphia's secondary coach.

It looked pretty bleak for the Ram secondary after Atogwe signed with Washington in March, but here in July, for the same price they would have paid for Atogwe, the Rams got a better overall safety, a top cover man and a better run defender, keep about the same turnover production and get only a little older.

This is a terrific move for the Rams and a great start to free agency.

Photo: Sports Illustrated

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