Trumaine Johnson, Rams Unlikely To Reach Long-Term Deal

With a little less than a month remaining until the July 15 deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign extensions, there doesn’t appear to be much hope that the Rams will convince cornerback Trumaine Johnson to sign on the dotted line. According to Adam Schefter and Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (video link), it’s a “long shot” that Johnson will agree to a long-term deal with Los Angeles in the next four weeks or so.Trumaine Johnson

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Nonetheless, Johnson will be well-compensated for the 2016 campaign, as he’s already signed his franchise tender, guaranteeing himself a $13.952MM salary for the upcoming season. Per Schefter and Anderson, both the Rams and Johnson are comfortable playing out the year with that cost — neither the club nor the player feels an immediate need to reach an extension, as both sides are content with the roughly $14MM figure.

As Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports wrote earlier this year, Johnson is particularly unlikely to agree to a multi-year pact given that his former Rams teammate, fellow corner Janoris Jenkins, landed a mega-deal from the Giants in free agency, securing a $12.5MM annual salary and $28.8MM in guarantees. Both of those charges likely represents a floor for Johnson, and unless Los Angeles is willing to match or exceed those numbers, Johnson is probably unwilling to sign.

Johnson, 26, had just 20 career starts on his NFL résumé prior to 2015, but he established himself as a reliable starting cornerback last season, picking up 71 tackles, seven interceptions, and 17 passes defended, grading out as the No. 17 CB in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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