Los Angeles Rams Wisely Franchise Tag CB Trumaine Johnson

The Los Angeles Rams made a wise move on Tuesday by placing the franchise tag on CB Trumaine Johnson. Letting him hit the open market would have been a mistake.

The was a lot of intrigue surrounding the Los Angeles Rams’ franchise tag on Tuesday. Leading up to the day, it seemed that CB Trumaine Johnson would receive the tag, but NFL Network’s Rand Getlin strongly reported that the Rams would use the tag on fellow CB Janoris Jenkins.

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Leading up to the 4 PM ET deadline, it looked like this could go either way. In the end, first reported by Albert Breer of the NFL Network, the Rams decided that Johnson was the cornerback who they were going to lock up with the franchise tag.

Johnson is now under the Rams’ control for one year at a price tag of nearly $14 million dollars. It appeared that the Rams were looking to lock up Johnson with a long-term deal before the deadline. In that case, they would have placed the franchise tag on Jenkins and had their starting CB duo back for at least one more season.

However, when Johnson and the Rams were unable to come to an agreement, the Rams had to make sure to lock down the better player. Jenkins is a talented cornerback, but Johnson’s ability on the outside has the potential to be special.

He is an incredibly athletic player whose skills can match up against the most physically gifted receivers in the NFL. Johnson has a great combination of size, speed and pure talent that would be tough to replace at the cornerback position. Jenkins is a great player himself, but Johnson’s pure talent and upside is on another level.

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The Rams will undoubtedly continue to try to lock up Johnson to a long-term deal, and will surely at least keep in touch with Jenkins on the open market. However, whether they are able to agree to an extension with Johnson or not, it seems relatively unlikely that Jenkins will be back.

He is now going to hit the open market as the best cornerback available, and there are many teams who have major needs at the position. I imagine that Jenkins will get priced out of where the Rams are willing to go, but with Johnson back that is alright.

E.J. Gaines is a talented young player at the position who is ready for an opportunity to start. Johnson and Gaines as a starting duo on the outside is solid for the Rams. Plus, they will undoubtedly look to add to the position in the 2016 NFL Draft, perhaps even with their 15th overall pick. If they pass on the position in the first round, CB for one of their two second round picks would make a lot of sense.

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Johnson is an incredibly talented player who would have gotten pretty much whatever he asked for on the open market. The Rams simply could not allow other teams to have a chance to get their stud cornerback.

Placing the franchise tag on Johnson was a smart move by a franchise whose arrow is pointing up. Now, if they could just get a franchise-caliber quarterback on the roster.