Bartell missed essentially the entire 2011 season with a broken neck, but he’s been medically cleared by both the Rams’ and the Raiders’ doctors. They Rams just cut him because of his salary and because they intended to go after Cortland Finnegan as their #1 cornerback. However, Bartell had a solid season in 2010 as St. Louis’ #1 cornerback, allowing a 52.1% completion percentage, 5.6 YPA, 2 touchdowns, no picks, and 7 penalties, ranking as ProFootballFocus’ #37 cornerback in the 2010 season. This was a nice, cheap signing for the Raiders (3 million over 1 year) and the Raiders desperately needed cornerback help as they were slated to start a 2011 3^rd and 4^th rounder at cornerback in 2012. They didn’t have a lot of cap space or draft picks so they almost had to make a move like this.

Grade: A