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Cortland Finnegan left the Titans' training camp abruptly on Friday. But he says that his absence was family-related, and not about a new contract.
Cortland Finnegan's abrupt departure from the Tennessee Titans' training camp on Friday was regarded as a pseudo-holdout of sorts: Finnegan and the Titans had been negotiating a new contract, and the Titans had no clue why their cornerback left. But now Finnegan is firing back, claiming on Twitter that his absence was family-related, and in no way an effort related to his contract.
"My absence had nothing to do with a holdout yet a personal matter that Titan officials were aware of," Finnegan wrote on his Twitter account. "I am also thankful for my current contract and direction of team. It's obvious media had no idea of why my absence took place."
Blaming "media" for misconstruing a departure from camp with no explicit reason when all the media members could do was go to the Titans for their side of the story is probably not going to win Finnegan too many friends with ink-stained hands in Nashville.
For more on NFL free agency, check out SB Nation's comprehensive 2011 NFL free agency section. For more on the Titans, visit Music City Miracles.
According to reports, including one by Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports via twitter, Cortland Finnegan has walked out on Tennessee Titans training camp. Finnegan, a one-time Pro Bowl and All-Pro selection, is in the final year of a four-year contract and is believed to be seeking both an extension and a raise. A similar situation in 2008, when Finnegan rose from being a relatively unknown seventh-round pick to stardom, saw the Titans give him a new contract.
Of course, Finnegan isn't the only high profile Titan currently holding out for a better deal. All-Pro running back and NFL all-purpose yards leader Chris Johnson is also holding out for a better contract. The Titans will likely struggle without arguably their two best players, but Finnegan and Johnson might not be able to afford lengthy holdouts after the NFL lockout caused them to miss more than a couple of paychecks.
For more on this developing story and the Tennessee Titans, visit Music City Miracles.
Tennessee Titans' Cortland Finnegan Apologizes To Team, Media
Tennessee Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan made amends on Monday with the team and the media following a weekend of unannounced leaves and lies, reports Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean. Finnegan had left the team on Saturday, but told the media it wasn't over his desire to receive a new contract nor that it was unannounced. He claimed the latter was due to a family-related issue. On Monday, Finnegan changed his account on all of this.
As Finnegan explained:
While head coach Mike Munchak has accepted Finnegan's apology, the cornerback will still be fined for his actions, which Finnegan admitted were wrong.
Finnegan is in the last year of his contract and scheduled to make a base salary of $3.293 million. The Titans likely want to wait until after this season to talk a long-term deal with him.
For more on NFL free agency, check out SB Nation's comprehensive 2011 NFL free agency section. For more on the Titans, visit Music City Miracles.
Aug 09 8:01a by Russ Oates - 0 comments