Los Angeles Rams: 5 questions after franchise tagging Lamarcus Joyner

4. Is signing Johnson still a possibility?

During the previous two seasons, the Rams were in a tough spot when it comes to cornerback Trumaine Johnson, mainly due to the fact that the organization was hesitant to commit to him for the long run. In fact, one of the main reasons why Los Angeles was willing to use the franchise tag on Johnson last season for the second year in a row was due to the fact they wanted to make sure he was going to be a good fit in Phillips’ defense.

Not to mention, the Rams were in a tough position as well in which they couldn’t afford to lose johnson, but also didn’t want to spend all of that money signing him to a long-term deal, which is why the franchise tag came into play once again. But due to their decision last offseason, Los Angeles is in another tough position with Johnson since he’s going to be one of the most sought-after cornerbacks in free agency with a handful of teams most likely willing to offer him more money, meaning the Rams bringing him back would be costly.

Even after agreeing to trade for Peters since he would come at a much cheaper price, Los Angeles hasn’t ruled out the possibility of Johnson returning to the team since the thought of the duo playing together at cornerback would cause all sorts of problems for opponents. Of course, if that were to happen, Johnson would most likely be taking a major pay cut compared to other teams, which is why this scenario seems like an absolute long shot for the Rams at the moment.