Rams corner Trumaine Johnson talking himself out of LA in 2018?
Trumaine Johnson’s exit from the Los Angeles Rams may be imminent if his actions don’t start matching his words.
The Los Angeles Rams have until July 15 to come to an agreement on a long-term deal with fifth-year cornerback Trumaine Johnson. The Montana product will earn $16.74 million after signing his franchise tender in March — the second consecutive year he’s played under the franchise tag. The Rams are trying to negotiate a more cap-friendly salary for Johnson for 2017. That will give them flexibility to sign their top defensive player, tackle Aaron Donald, to a long-term deal.
The longer Rams management has to deal with Johnson, the less certain they are about locking up Donald. For his part, Johnson told ESPN.com that the money aspect takes a back seat to his love for the game and for his fellow Rams. His agent and the team likely will get together after offseason training activities that conclude in June.
The Rams want to evaluate how he’ll fit defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ scheme.
“My whole thing is, man, I’m just glad I’m playing football,” Johnson said, via ESPN. “If it was about the money for me, I would’ve left somewhere else to get bigger money. I love football, I love my teammates.”
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Where that would be, exactly, is unclear. According to Sportrac.com, the Stockton, CA native will be the highest-paid corner in the league in 2017, bettering Josh Norman’s salary by $1.742 million.
In the ESPN piece, Johnson also said, “Overall, you always want a long-term deal. But right now, my focus is here, with these OTAs. We have until July 15, so I’m going to let my agent handle the business side and I’m just going to handle the football side.”
If that were true, however, Johnson would be a New Orleans Saint right now. Prior to the draft, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Saints were willing to trade a second-round pick to Los Angeles for Johnson, but he refused to agree to a long-term deal because he wanted to stay in L.A.
That love for L.A. has trumped Johnson’s love for his teammates. Johnson needs the Rams to re-sign Donald to apply the pressure to opposing quarterbacks. That will make his job on the back end that much easier.
Johnson already is coming off a down year in which he had just one interception in 14 games. He had seven interceptions in 14 games during the 2015 season while playing alongside fellow cornerback Janoris Jenkins. The Ram did rank 25th among 111 qualified corners, per Pro Football Focus. But that doesn’t qualify him as the top breadwinner of the position for the coming season.
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Johnson’s exit after 2017 might be moot if he were to have some more resolute actions behind his words. He should consider giving the Rams a hometown discount to sign Donald and their other defensive priorities.
Otherwise, Johnson’s exit in 2018 is likely a done deal in 2017.