Although it might be hard to imagine any reluctance on the Rams' part to eventually sign "franchise" FS O.J. Atogwe to a new long-term contract, we hear it's hardly set in stone that the team's 2008 MVP will remain a defensive cornerstone in St. Louis beyond the '09 campaign.

"Certainly the team's old coaching staff had seen enough to make a long-term commitment to him," a team insider said of Atogwe, whose high-quality playmaking skills have produced more combined interceptions and forced fumbles the last three seasons than any player in the league, according to the Rams' Web site.

"But now it's as if he has to prove himself all over again to a new set of eyes."

What Atogwe has already emphatically proven to new defensive-oriented head coach Steve Spagnuolo and executive VP of football operations/COO Kevin Demoff, who calls all the team's salary shots, is that he is a good soldier who isn't likely to dirty the waters with any kind of contract-related distractions.

"He's one of the few franchise players in the league who hasn't missed a beat on the field this offseason, and the Rams appreciate a risk he did not have to take, considering his status," the insider said.

Adds Demoff in a recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch chat session: "It's important to say how impressed I was with the dignity and grace with which O.J. handled his situation. The Rams could not have asked a franchise player to have acted any better than O.J. did, and it's a testament to the kind of person he is."

A key subplot in the Atogwe salary scenario is the potential for an uncapped year changing the league's free-agency rules. Such a move would result in Atogwe going from a franchise player to a restricted free agent following the '09 season — with players suddenly needing six years of experience to become unrestricted free agents instead of four — and the Rams appearing to grab all the leverage in future bargaining discussions.

It's also worth pointing out that, as good a player as Atogwe has become, he still is far from perfect.

"There's no doubt that he's become a real difference maker, especially in the Rams' defense," said the insider. "But every now and then he will take the wrong coverage angles, and he still has a tendency to tackle too high."

Kickoff is coming! Be sure to buy copies of the Pro Football Weekly/Yahoo! Sports 2009 NFL preview magazine, as well as the Pro Football Weekly/Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football Guide 2009, both of which are now available at bookstores, newsstands and retail outlets where magazines are sold. Or order your copies online at PFWStore.com