The Los Angeles Rams have a major decision to make this upcoming offseason. It includes whether the team will be able to re-sign cornerback Trumaine Johnson before free agency. If not, will the Rams place the franchise tag on him for the second consecutive year?
In talking about this, Rams general manager Les Snead didn’t drop any real hints about the decision-making process.
“That will be a big decision,” Snead said, via the Los Angeles Times . “Wade (Phillips), like a lot of [defensive coordinators], likes good players on the outside. Trumaine fits that category. Trumaine is a larger guy with good ball skills and all things like that. Is it a square in a square, a triangle in a triangle or more a rectangle in a square?”
Snead is right in that Johnson fits the mold of the cornerbacks new Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has had in the past, Aqib Talib included.
Interestingly, Snead did broach the topic of potentially franchising Johnson.
“That’s probably one of the top priorities when Wade walks in the door because, obviously, the magnitude of what his contract will look like and the magnitude of what another franchise tag looks like and everything in between,” Snead continued.
Johnson, a former third-round pick of the Rams, has started 27 games over the past two seasons, recording 27 passes defended and eight interceptions during that span.
He stands to benefit from Phillips’ presence on the Rams, but it’s unknown if the team is willing to pay him $15-plus million annually on the franchise tag.