It came as a shock to many that the St. Louis Rams did not sign former Giants DT Barry Cofield, who instead agreed to terms with Washington. However, the Rams interest in Cofield may never have been as serious as suggested. Cofield or not, Spagnuolo's team still needs to address a need at defensive tackle.
Per Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch, citing a league source, the Rams were "lukewarm" on Cofield. Their reticence on Cofield isn't exactly clear. Could it have something to do with his recent injury history? He had shoulder surgery in January, but has played in 16 games for the past two seasons. Whatever it was, it doesn't really matter now.
And what about another former Giants DT? The team informed DT Rocky Bernard, 32, that they would release him this week. Bernard has no Spagnuolo connection; New York acquired Bernard in 2009, Spagnuolo's first year as head coach in St. Louis. Prior to the Giants, he played for seven seasons with Seattle, where he racked up 29 sacks; he had just three sacks in New York.
It was revealed this summer that Bernard played all of last season with a torn rotator cuff, and played in less than a third of the Giants' defensive snaps through 14 games last year. His ceiling would be as a veteran, rotational stopgap, maybe with no guarantee of making the roster.