Bartell is a rising corner, and has rare size (6-0) for the position. He’s a good piece to keep around for Spagnuolo, along with franchise-tagged safety O.J. Atogwe.

Bartell had also been talking to the New Orleans Saints but in the end he resigned with the St. Louis Rams. Mike Triplett, from The Times-Picayune reports that this could be because of Steve Spagnuolo.

A source indicated that both teams’ offers were in the same ballpark, but the choice came down to which situation Bartell preferred, and he apparently liked what he heard from new Rams Coach Steve Spagnuolo.

The Rams have now signed Atogwe and Butler and are still looking into signing SS James Butler away from the New York Giants.  Butler would be another important piece to upgrading the Rams starting roster. If the Rams are unable to lure Butler, they may look to the 2009 NFL Draft to fill their need for a hammer in the secondary. Louis Delmas from Western Michigan, or Patrick Chung from Oregon could fit the bill if available.