No Deal In Works Between Rams & CB Trumaine Johnson, Will Play Under Franchise Tag

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports, citing league sources, reports that a last-minute contract extension between the Rams and franchise CB Trumaine Johnson is not in the works and he will instead play out the 2017 season under the tag.

This has been the expectation for a few months now and shouldn’t come as a big surprise.

A few weeks ago, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that there’s “nothing close” between the Rams and Johnson and the two parties will not get a long-term extension in place before the July 17 deadline.

Some previously speculated that the Rams would want to see how Johnson does in Wade Phillips‘ defensive scheme before committing to him long term.

Johnson stands to make around $16.8 million fully guaranteed for the 2017 season under the franchise tag. Because Johnson receives a 20 percent increase on top of the franchise tag figure, he’s now the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL.

Interestingly enough, the Rams actually made Johnson available for trade during the offseason and the Saints reportedly showed some interest in him, but ultimately nothing came of the trade talks.

Johnson, 27, is a former third-round pick of the Rams back in 2012. He played out his rookie contract with the Rams before being franchised back in February and made $13.952 million fully guaranteed under the tag.

In 2016, Johnson appeared in 14 games for the Rams and recorded 58 total tackles, one interception, one fumble recovery, and 12 pass defenses. Pro Football Focus rated him as the No. 28 overall cornerback out of 120 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding Johnson as the news is available.