Los Angeles Rams: 5 questions after franchise tagging Lamarcus Joyner

5. Will Joyner eventually receive long-term deal?

When taking everything into consideration, nobody seemed all that surprised to hear the decision by the Rams to use the franchise tag on Joyner over Watkins, especially since it would have come at a cheaper price. But now that Joyner is officially under the franchise tag, the next question for Los Angeles becomes whether the two sides can officially agree to a long-term deal down the road.

After spending the beginning of his career as a slot cornerback for the most part, Joyner made the switch to safety last season for the Rams, and this turned out to work wonders for the defense when looking at the impact he was able to make. In fact, Joyner wasted no time making an immediate impact in Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts in which he picked off Scott Tolzien and returned the interception for a score, even if this was an easy win for Los Angeles.

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Deciding to use the franchise tag on Joyner right now instead of signing him to a long-term deal seemed like the best move when looking at all of the players on the Rams will need to decide on locking up moving forward. Plus, from the perspective of Los Angeles, as great as Joyner was last season in Phillips’ system at safety, the team also wants to make sure his success at the position wasn’t just a one-time thing, meaning a long-term deal could very well come down the road if the success continues for the former Florida State standout.