The Tennessee Titans lost a huge piece of their secondary in the offseason when Cortland Finnegan signed a big deal with the St. Louis Rams as a free agent.
Finnegan was a legitimate No. 1 cornerback, and his decision to move on leaves a void for Mike Munchak's defense. You'd think the coach would be concerned, but he seems unfazed.
"That's the fun part," Munchak told The Associated Press last week. "Everyone gets worried about when we lost Finnegan and we have to go get a veteran. But a lot of times we feel comfortable with the guys we have."
Jason McCourty will return to the starting lineup at cornerback. Other options include Alterraun Verner, Tommie Campbell, Chris Hawkins and rookie Coty Sensabaugh.
Verner is in position to play nickelback on the inside. He may play the dual role Finnegan had last season, acting as a cornerback on the outside and covering slot receivers on the inside.
"I want to play inside," Verner said. "I like being with the linebackers and getting to blitz. I want to come in and guard some of the slot guys because that's where the ball goes most of the time, the Wes Welkers, the great tight ends, they like to work those areas, especially on third downs. I would love to be that guy that Cortland was last year."
Verner has big shoes to fill. Finnegan had a great season in his walk year. FootballOutsiders.com ranked Finnegan as the league's best coverage corner last season in terms of yards-per-attempt allowed (4.3).
