Stanford Routt Is On The Radar

I haven’t got the cornerback position yet in my ongoing “Offseason Preview” segment, but the gist of what is going to be said is that the Vikings must be aggressive in upgrading the talent they have.

This week, the Raiders decided to avoid paying out ridiculous amounts of money to cornerback Stanford Routt and cut him loose.  This means he is an unrestricted free agent, but does not have to wait until March to sign with a new team.

According to the Pioneer Press, Routt will be visiting Buffalo and Tennessee in the near future, but his agent has listed the Vikings as another team to express interest.

According the article, Routt held his assignments to only a 47.4% completion rate in 2011.  However, he gave up eight touchdowns, was flagged an astonishing 17 times, and was consistently picked on by opposing offenses.

The bottom line is Routt is a talented cornerback, but he should not be considered a true #1 cornerback in the NFL and certainly should not be getting paid like one.

There would be one small side benefit to signing Routt to keep in mind.  He is not a true unrestricted free agent since his contract didn’t expire, but rather he cut, so the team that signs him will not be any less likely to receive compensatory draft picks as a result in 2013.

Routt is currently 28 years old and has played seven NFL seasons.  He is durable, and has played every game in the last three seasons, and had a career high four interceptions in 2011.

We will be sure to keep you updated on the rumors surrounding the Vikings interest in Routt.

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