Reaction around the league to the decision of the Rams to re-sign defensive back Jason Sehorn to a one-year deal has been swift, and harsh.
"Are you sh-tting me?" said one league insider after being informed of the possible acquisition. "There are guys on the street who are much better than this stiff."
Sehorn says that the delayed signing was the specific result of his desire to avoid training camp. "I wasn't going to training camp," he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I'm not pushing my luck. Unfortunately for me, three of my major injuries have all happened in training camp."
Sehorn blames a lackluster performance in 2003 on a foot injury suffered during training camp -- an injury that didn't heal during the season.
"I could never do anything," he said. "I couldn't go left or right. I couldn't dig. It's kind of frustrating. But at that point, you want to play. So you're constantly fighting -- I felt like salmon swimming against the stream. It's not the fun way to swim."
So his new way to swim is to jump into the water as late as possible in order to still get paid. Curiously, the Rams have signed him before the season opener, which means that his $760,000 salary will be guaranteed. They could have (i.e., should have) waited until after Sunday to sign him, in the event that he doesn't work out. Then, they wouldn't have been on the hook for his full salary.
Then again, as a 10-year veteran, he costs only $450,000 in cap dollars and real dollars.
Sehorn still needs to pass a physical in order to make the team, and passing a physical is no gimme for a guy who has been gimpy for most of the past several years.
