Around The League's Gregg Rosenthal listed St. Louis Rams safety Quintin Mikell as one of the NFC veterans on the roster bubble.
Three weeks later, a source informed of the impending move tells NFL.com's Ian Rapoport that Mikell indeed will be released. The 32-year-old's $6 million salary was due to count a prohibitive $9 million against the salary cap.
Offseason Forecast: Rams
With the offseason under way, Around The League examines what's next for all 32 teams. Chris Wesseling covers the Rams. **More ...**
Mikell has plenty left in the tank, evidenced by his 101 tackles, three sacks and four forced fumbles last season. The problem is that NFL teams are reluctant to pay big money to in-the-box safeties, which is why so many are losing their jobs this offseason.
That trend has been exacerbated by a flooded market at the position. With so many quality safeties available, the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans were unwilling to pay the franchise-tag rate for Dashon Goldson and Glover Quin, respectively.
The Rams will be in the market for a pair of starting safeties in the next week or two. Combined, they likely will earn less than Mikell was scheduled to pull down in 2013.
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