Given the franchise tag for a second straight season, Trumaine Johnson didn’t complicate matters regarding his 2017 status. The sixth-year cornerback signed his $16.742MM franchise tender today, Peter Schrager of FoxSports.com reports (on Twitter).
That figure makes Johnson the league’s second-highest-paid cornerback in 2017, behind only Josh Norman. Johnson wasn’t expected to be a long holdout regarding the tag, as he’ll make more money than he did last season due to the franchise tag rules mandating 120% increases for players tagged a second time. The Rams and the 27-year-old corner have until July 15 to agree to an extension.
The Rams used the tag here on the former third-round pick to avoid losing talented cornerbacks in consecutive years. Janoris Jenkins did not make the St. Louis-to-Los Angeles move with the Rams, instead departing for New York on a $12.5MM-AAV deal. In 2016, Johnson had 57 total tackles and one interception in 14 games. In the year prior, he racked up 71 total tackles and seven interceptions. He graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 26 corner in 2016.
Los Angeles has $20.2MM in cap space. A Johnson extension would expand that figure, but as of now, that near-$17MM amount goes on the Rams’ books, limiting their free agent pursuit.