The St. Louis Rams have a new philosophy heading into this season: defense. The team continued to make upgrades to their offense by signing free-agent safety Corey Chavous to a five-year deal worth about $12 million over the first three years.

Chavous will probably replace Adam Archuleta, the Rams starting safety last year. Archuleta is a free agent and could sign with another team.

Chavous has played for the Minnesota Vikings the past four years. Last year, he had 90 tackles and two interceptions. His best year came in 2003 when he had 103 tackles and eight interceptions.

Chavous was originally a second-round pick in 1998 by the Arizona Cardinals. Chavous had connections with the Rams new head coach Scott Linehan from his days with the Vikings.