Two potential players of interest for Dallas may never hit the market.
The Rams website reports that FS Oshiomogho Atogwe, an '08 breakout player who has snagged 13 interceptions the past two seasons, will enter serious contract negotiations with the club later this week. Atogwe rates as a, if not the top free agent priority in St. Louis, so his chances of testing free agency seem dim at this time.
In Baltimore, the Ray Lewis news comes hard and heavy and will either intrigue you or leave you cold -- depending on which story you favor.
The Sun's Mike Preston today quoted the DMN's Calvin Watkins that Lewis attempted to contact Jerry Jones through a third party, notably one Terrell Owens. Deion Sanders -- who ended his career as a Raven -- is also rumored to be recruiting Lewis for Big D.
Later today, Preston blogged that Lewis and the Ravens will not begin negotiations until next week's Combine. His post is far less certain that a deal will be reached than some cable sports news crawls I've read today:
Lewis' agent will be there as will Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, and that's when the two sides can hammer out a deal, if they agree to one.
There haven't been any serious negotiations between the two sides.
This fits the free agent pattern seen the last couple of years. Teams have become much better at managing their caps and fewer and fewer quality free agents hit the market. Expect more of the top free agent prospects to re-sign with their current teams in the next week or so.