Tru will be tagged? and yep he is & (updated) he signs

Price is steep to keep cornerback Trumaine Johnson, but Rams’ hands are tied

VINCENT BONSIGNORE

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/rams-745349-johnson-cornerback.html

INDIANAPOLIS – At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter whether Trumaine Johnson deserves to make more money than any cornerback in the NFL.

Or that, coming off a 2016 season that wasn’t quite as good as the one he delivered in 2015, he still stands to earn a $3 million raise from the $13.9 million he made last season.

All of which moved into the very likely category Wednesday when, as expected, the Rams placed their non-exclusive rights franchise tag on Johnson just hours before the deadline NFL teams get to utilize the designation on pending free agents.

As a result, barring the club and Johnson coming to terms on a long-term deal between now and mid-July – or another team snatching him up and compensating the Rams with two first round picks per the non-exclusive tag rules – the fourth-year defensive back from Montana will make more money than any other cornerback in the league next season.

Is Johnson the best cornerback in the NFL?

Of course not.

He might not even be among the top five, especially coming off an injury riddled season in which he missed two games and his on-field play was a step back from the level he played the season before.

From that standpoint, there is absolutely no case to be made paying him the kind of money he’ll likely make next season.

But I reiterate: Whether he deserves it or not is of no significance.

This is a case of a major Rams need trumping the cost it will take to address it.

As thin as the Rams are at cornerback, and as uncertain as the position is right now even with Johnson in the fold, losing him would be a punch even more painful than the blow they’ll absorb to the wallet and on their 2017 salary cap.

As of now, the Rams will have $20 million under the cap to address their various needs in free agency. And that includes retaining safety T.J. McDonald, who is set to hit free agency next week.

That’s not a lot of leeway given the needed upgrades the Rams face. So Johnson’s contract – if it stays as is – limits their ability to improve through free agency.

But the reality is, the Rams can’t afford to lose Johnson, no matter how expensive it will be to keep him around at least one more year.

That’s the conundrum they’re confronted with, partly due to losing Janoris Jenkins last year to the New York Giants and the difficulty E.J. Gaines, his replacement, has had staying on the field the last two seasons.

Letting Johnson walk would put the Rams cornerback population on razor-thin ice, lest you are comfortable going into next season with Gaines and Lamarcus Joyner – ideally a slot corner – as your starters with fringy players such as Michael Jordan and Troy Hill in reserve.

Sure, you could look to the open market, where A.J. Bouye of the Texans, Logan Ryan of the Patriots and Stephon Gilmore of the Bills should be available beginning next week.

But all the free agent cornerbacks come with some combination of price, performance and scheme concerns. And ideally, the Rams should be looking for outside help to supplement Johnson, not replace him.

The draft is another option, but without a first-round pick this year and with so much help needed offensively, the Rams need to focus on the offensive line and wide receiver at the top of their draft rather than a cornerback.

So, as you can see, the Rams find themselves in a bit of a predicament.

On the open market, Johnson isn’t worth $17 million.

But in the Rams’ unsteady cornerback situation, it’s a price worth paying.

Ideally this becomes a moot point by the Rams and Johnson coming to agreement on a long-term deal, one that lowers the annual pay but guarantees Johnson more money over the long haul.

Of course, that raises a rather obvious question: What’s the hold-up?

This is the second straight year Rams and Johnson couldn’t find the middle ground necessary to lock him up long term, resulting in them putting the franchise tag on him.

By all accounts, Johnson wants to be in Los Angeles long term and the Rams feel the same.

Yet, the two sides remain too far apart to make it happen.

Yes, he slipped to just one interception last year after a registering a career-high seven in 2015. And he ranked in the middle of the pack among qualifying cornerbacks in snaps per catch and opposing QB rating when targeted.

But he’s a 27-year-old proven player just now entering his prime. And the club believes he’s an ideal fit for the scheme new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will implement.

That doesn’t mean he’s worth $17 million.

But the Rams really have no other choice.

Trumaine Johnson signs $16.7 million franchise tender

Michael David Smith

Trumaine Johnson signs $16.7 million franchise tender

Some players dislike the franchise tag, but Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson is just fine with making a guaranteed salary of $16.7 million this season.

Johnson has signed his one-year, $16.7 million franchise tender, Peter Schrager of NFL Network reports.

The $16.7 million Johnson is scheduled to make for 2017 would be the second-most of any cornerback in the NFL this year, behind only the $24 million Josh Norman will make in Washington this year between his salary and bonuses. It’s still possible that Johnson and the Rams could work out a long-term deal, but if not, Johnson is guaranteed that base salary, which works out to about $983,000 a week for all 17 weeks of the regular season.

The Rams took Johnson out of Montana with a third-round pick in the 2012 NFL draft. Last year in Los Angeles he started 14 games, and the team views him as an important part of what it hopes is building a winning team after many years of losing for the franchise.

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