Trumaine Johnson Franchise-Tagged by Rams: Latest Contract Details, Reaction

Waiting until nearly the last minute, the Los Angeles Rams placed the franchise tag on cornerback Trumaine Johnson on Tuesday. 

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports and ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Johnson was getting the one-year franchise tender from L.A.  On Friday, the Rams announced Johnson has signed his franchise tender.

Myles Simmons of Rams.com confirmed the team had placed the franchise tag on Johnson. The move isn't unexpected, as NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on Feb. 27 that the Rams were "leaning toward" tagging Johnson because of the "outside interest in him."

Peter Schrager of Fox Sports reported Johnson is expected to accept his tender on Friday.

Simmons provided a statement from Rams general manager Les Snead, who spoke about the move:

Los Angeles head coach Jeff Fisher said earlier this offseason, included in Simmons' report, that the team's goal was to keep its secondary intact: “We’ve developed them and we don’t want to develop them for anyone else. So, we want to be sure that we’re able to get them back. We’re confident we can do that.”

According to ESPN.com, the official franchise tag value for a cornerback in 2016 is $13.952 million. Last year was the first time in Johnson's career that he made over $1 million, per Spotrac. 

A four-year veteran, Johnson has spent his entire career with the Rams. He had a breakout 2015, setting career highs in games started (13), passes defensed (17) and interceptions (seven). 

The Rams were debating whether to place their franchise tag on Johnson or Janoris Jenkins. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle noted that with Johnson receiving the designation, Jenkins is "expected" to get a huge deal from some team in free agency. 

Jenkins came into the NFL with more of a pedigree, as a second-round pick and four-year starter, but Ben Stockwell of Pro Football Focus noted Johnson has surpassed his fellow cornerback in production recently:

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Johnson then missed the first eight weeks of the 2014 season, but has since surrendered only two touchdowns (to Jenkins’ six) and intercepted 10 passes (to Jenkins’ four). What Jenkins has over Johnson in experience, Johnson has more than matched Jenkins in terms of production—both on a per-snap basis and overall. Johnson has never allowed more than two touchdowns in a season; Jenkins has allowed at least five in each of his four years in the league.

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Health is a concern for Johnson, who has never started all 16 games in a season. He has missed a total of nine games the previous two seasons, which may be why the Rams want to test him with a one-year guarantee before making a long-term commitment. 

The Rams can still negotiate a long-term contract with Johnson through July 15, but at least they don't have an immediate concern about losing the 26-year-old when free agency begins on March 9. 

Even though the Rams haven't reached the postseason, they have built an outstanding foundation on defense with Johnson, Aaron Donald and, if he can stay on the field, Robert Quinn.

The Rams aren't far away from reaching the playoffs, even in a division with Arizona and Seattle, so investing big money in Johnson is a wise move because it gives them security at cornerback and one less position to worry about filling this offseason.