Rams Set to Use Franchise Tag On Johnson

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Rams are set to use their franchise tag on Trumaine Johnson which would be worth 16.7 million for one year. What’s frustrating about this piece of news is that the Rams are essentially kicking the can for another year before they decide if they want to actually keep Johnson long term which is even more frustrating since they tagged him last year as well. The Rams have to recognize that they have a franchise corner on their hands and that’s not something that comes around every day. As previously stated, signing Johnson to a long term deal would likely be expensive and limit their already limited cap space but at the same time what are they saving it for? They’ll pick up Aaron Donald’s fifth year option so they don’t have to worry about locking him up long term until next year. Les Snead might honestly believe they have a shot at any marquee free agent that doesn’t get the franchise tag but even if that’s true, who are they signing that would be worth using the money anyway?

The only reason to franchise tag Johnson for another year that has nothing to do with managerial cowardice, would be to see what teams would be willing to give up a package of picks to get him. If that’s the case, then the tag is defensible because Les Snead deep down HAS to know that the Rams are far from competing and need to just replenish the well. If no one around the league decides Trumaine Johnson is worth giving up that many assets then they can just lock him up to a long term deal and make him a corner stone for their defense. Johnson hasn’t officially been tagged yet so there’s hope that the Rams just decide whether he’s worth keeping or not and avoid having this drama roll all the way to July 15th. Maybe they do just let it go until the tag deadline and see what happens with their off-season. It might take whiffing on a marquee free agent or having to make tough choices on draft day to realize that they might not want to mess around with one of their only real proven assets.