Lamarcus Joyner - Pro Football Rumors

NFC Notes: Vikings, Diggs, Rams, Joyner

June 28th, 2018 at 3:53pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at the NFC:

There’s a good chance that Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr and wide receiver Stefon Diggs will hit the open market in 2019 if they don’t sign contract extensions, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (on Twitter) opines. Corry estimates that the linebacker and wide receiver franchise tags will be $16.325MM and $17MM, respectively, and that may be too pricey for Minnesota’s liking. On Wednesday, we evaluated Barr as an extension candidate.
Kirk Cousins‘ open-minded approach to the franchise tag should serve as inspiration to this year’s franchise tagged players, Albert Breer of The MMQB argues. That includes Rams safety Lamarcus Joyner, who is set to make $11.287MM this year and would call for a $13.544MM salary if tagged again next year. By standing pat, Joyner would receive either $11.287MM this year and a trip to free agency in March, or nearly $25MM across two seasons before hitting the open market in 2020. That could give Joyner the confidence he needs to stand his ground in extension talks, though this year’s disappointing free agent market for safeties could also steer him towards taking a deal.
Eagles running back Matt Jones knows that he needs to get it together if he wants to stick in the NFL. “It could be [my last chance],” Jones said (via Tom Moore of The Morning Call). “That don’t scare me at all. I got my eyes on the prize. I’m here and I’m ready to work.” Jones inked a two-year, $1.5MM deal with the Eagles this offseason, but the contract contains zero guarantees.

Rams S Lamarcus Joyner Signs Tender

April 16th, 2018 at 3:07pm CST by Zachary Links

Rams safety Lamarcus Joyner has signed his $11.287MM franchise tag, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). After inking the deal, Joyner participated in the Rams’ offseason workout program, which kicked off on Monday.

In March, the Rams wrestled with the decision to franchise tag either Joyner or wide receiver Sammy Watkins. Ultimately, they tagged Joyner and allowed Watkins to test the open market. Watkins signed a surprisingly lucrative three-year, $48MM deal with the Chiefs with a whopping $30MM guaranteed at signing, numbers that were too rich for the Rams’ blood.

Joyner doesn’t have the same name value as Watkins, but he is a tremendous player in his own right. After spending most of his career at cornerback, Joyner moved to free safety in 2017 and enjoyed a breakout season. In 2017, Joyner started 12 games and graded out as the third-best safety in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus.

This year, Joyner will return as the Rams’ starting free safety, but the rest of the secondary will look decidedly different. Trade acquisitions Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib will be starting at cornerback while veteran Sam Shields will help support them from the bench. In the middle, rising sophomore John Johnson will start at strong safety.

Rams Tag Lamarcus Joyner

March 6th, 2018 at 12:14pm CST by Zachary Links

The Rams have placed a non-exclusive franchise tag on safety Lamarcus Joyner. Because each team is only allowed to tag one player per offseason, this means that Sammy Watkins will be ticketed for free agency unless the two sides come to an agreement between now and March 14.

The Rams are still intent on keeping Watkins, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Although the Rams value both players, tagging Joyner was the less costly option. The franchise tag for safeties this year is $11.287MM. Conversely, the tag for wide receivers is $15.982MM.

The Rams have a fair amount of flexibility this offseason, so an extension for Watkins could still be in the cards. At the same time, they’ll have to factor for future deals with running back Todd Gurley and defensive tackle Aaron Donald. On the plus side, their recent trade of Robert Quinn to the Dolphins has opened up additional room.

Joyner, a 2014 second-rounder, never started more than eight games in a season until 2017. He shifted from cornerback to free safety in his contract year and broke out in a big way. Last season, Joyner started 12 contests and graded out as the third-best safety in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus.

The Rams have until July 16 to hammer out a long-term deal with Joyner. If the two sides are unable to reach a multi-year accord, Joyner will play out the 2018 season under the terms of his one-year tender.

Before the tag, Joyner profiled as the top available safety in free agency. Now, the best safeties available include the likes of Eric Reid, Morgan Burnett, Tre Boston, Kenny Vaccaro, Bradley McDougald, Tyvon Branch, and Marcus Gilchrist. It remains a deep class at safety, but none of those players offer the same kind of upside as Joyner. There will be some notables on the trade market as well, but as of this writing, the Seahawks seem intent on keeping Earl Thomas.

Rams To Tag Either Watkins Or Joyner

March 5th, 2018 at 3:26pm CST by Zachary Links

The Rams have two franchise tag candidates in wide receiver Sammy Watkins and safety Lamarcus Joyner. One of those players will receive the tag on Tuesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, but they have yet to decide which one.

By tagging one of the players, the Rams will guarantee that they will not lose both players to unrestricted free agency. However, if they cannot come to terms on a deal with either Watkins or Joyner before March 14, they’ll risk losing a key cog to the open market.

Late last month, it was reported that the Rams are leaning towards tagging Joyner over Watkins. Joyner would represent the cheaper tag as the projected cost for safeties is just over $11MM. Tagging Watkins would be more costly at a rate of about $16.23MM.

There’s more to the decision than just the Rams’ evaluation of each player and the cost. For all of Watkins’ drawbacks, including a dicey health history and a down year in 2017, he stands as one of the best potential free agents at his position. If the Rams do not tag him, they’ll be embroiled in a bidding war with other WR-needy teams and his price could quickly become too rich for their blood. Joyner, meanwhile, may profile as the best safety on the market, but there are other quality options near the top including Morgan Burnett, Kenny Vaccaro, Tre Boston, and Eric Reid.

Rams Leaning Toward Tagging Joyner?

February 23rd, 2018 at 6:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Rams made a deal to add a snazzy new piece to their secondary on Friday by agreeing to trade for Marcus Peters, and while this figures to relocate Trumaine Johnson, the other key UFA in Los Angeles’ defensive backfield might not be going anywhere.

If it’s between Lamarcus Joyner or Sammy Watkins as to which player the Rams will use their franchise tag on, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com reports the team is leaning toward Joyner as of Friday.

The goal remains to reach a long-term agreement with one of the two UFAs in order to keep the other player via the tag, Garafolo notes. The looming Aaron Donald contract could complicate that strategy, but the Rams appear to be interested in retaining both Joyner and Watkins for 2018.

A tag for Joyner would be the cheaper course of action, with a safety tag expected to cost $11.08MM. A Watkins tag would be pricey, locking him down for $16.23MM. The Rams, though, invested more in Watkins by trading a second-round pick and E.J. Gaines. But the former Bills first-round pick struggled to assimilate in Los Angeles, although eight of his 39 catches ended in touchdowns.

Joyner was a 2014 second-rounder and hadn’t started more than eight games in a season until his contract year, when he started 12 and had a strong season. On a safety market flooded with talent, Joyner may be the top UFA if he reaches the market. With the Dolphins tagging Jarvis Landry and the Jaguars possibly set to tag Allen Robinson, Watkins would surely also fare well on the open market.

Rams Notes: Donald, Watkins, Johnson

January 13th, 2018 at 8:43pm CST by Micah Powell

The Rams’ offseason plans hinge greatly on getting an extension done with All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald. However, team general manager Les Snead will not specify if he is the “first or last domino to fall,” ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez writes.

“What I do know is he is an important domino,” Snead said. It is likely Donald will become the highest-paid defender at some point this offseason, and the signing will dictate much of what the Rams can do with the rest of their salary cap.

Gonzalez also notes that a deal might have to wait until after Oakland resigns Khalil Mack for talks to begin to get serious. One of the frontrunners for 2017 Defensive Player of the Year, Donald is set to make $6.89MM in 2018, which is half of what Mack, who was taken eight spots higher than him in the 2014 NFL Draft, is expected to make.

Whenever Donald does ink a deal, there is no doubt he will be worth the pay raise. In his four seasons, the Pitt product has earned four Pro Bowl selections and has been named First Team All-Pro in each of the last three seasons. In 2017, Donald tied his career high with 11 sacks and furthered his reputation as the game’s top interior pass rusher.

Here is more from the Rams:

Gonzalez writes that using a franchise or transition tag on Sammy Watkins makes sense. Acquired by the Rams prior to the start of the 2017 campaign, Watkins provided a decent season eight touchdown grabs but only saw 67 targets. Another year in the high-powered offense will allow the fourth-year wideout to reach his potential after developing a better rapport with quarterback Jared Goff. The Rams traded a 2018 second-round pick and E.J. Gaines to the Bills for Watkins, and it would make sense they would want to see their investment for a full year in their system.
Snead can definitely see a scenario in which Trumaine Johnson returns to the team in 2018, Gonzalez reports. With Kayvon Webster out with an Achilles injury, it would make sense for the Rams to explore all options with the sixth-year cornerback. Gonzalez notes they would have to pay him like a top cornerback.
If Donald gets an extension, Watkins and Lamarcus Joyner are tagged, and Johnson is resigned, Gonzales thinks the team would look at parting with Robert Quinn or Mark Barron to make ends meet.

Rams Want To Extend DB Lamarcus Joyner

July 17th, 2017 at 6:42pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although the contract statuses of cornerback Trumaine Johnson and defensive tackle Aaron Donald may take precedence at the moment, the Rams also want to reach a long-term extension with defensive back Lamarcus Joyner, according to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com. Los Angeles is interested in a new deal for linebacker Alec Ogletree, as well, per Gonzalez.

Joyner, 26, will be seeing time at a new position this season, as he’ll be shifting to free safety after lining up at slot cornerback for the first three years of his NFL career. A second-round pick in 2014, Joyner has appeared in 40 games (14 starts) for the Rams, and last year managed 76 tackles, five passes defensed, and one sack. Overall, Joyner graded as the league’s No. 30 corner, per Pro Football Focus.

Scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next spring, Joyner will earn a $1.106M base salary in 2017 and carry a cap charge of $1.601MM. While the Rams could conceivably use the franchise tag on Joyner next year if no extension is hammered out, that tender would come with a cost north of $11MM. While Joyner has been a valuable player during his time with the Rams, he’s probably not worth that price tag.

Los Angeles’ interest in extending Ogletree, meanwhile, dates back to at least February of 2016. Because he was a first-round selection, Ogletree is under team control in 2018 the fifth-year option, which will pay him $8.369MM. In 16 starts a season ago, Ogletree played nearly every defensive snap for the Rams, but only ranked as the No. 57 linebacker among 88 qualifiers, according to PFF.

Extra Points: Ja. Peppers, Rams, Texans

April 17th, 2017 at 9:42pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Jabrill Peppers played both linebacker and cornerback at Michigan, but nearly all NFL teams view the draft-bound prospect as a safety, he told the Associated Press. Peppers is on board, saying, “I didn’t play safety, but I’m going to be a safety.” While one club informed Peppers it would use him at linebacker, another had an outside-the-box idea. “One team told me they thought I should play offense,” revealed Peppers, who did see time on that side of the ball at Michigan last season. Peppers rushed 27 times for 167 yards, caught two passes and scored three touchdowns. He also fared well in space as a punt returner, posting a Big Ten-leading 14.8-yard average on runbacks.

Rams Sign Lamarcus Joyner

June 12th, 2014 at 4:25pm CST by Luke Adams

At last count, only 31 members of 2014’s draft class remained unsigned, and 11 of those belonged to the Rams. Head coach Jeff Fisher and his team have gotten into the habit of walking their rookies through “Financial Planning 101” before handing them big signing bonuses, but it seems St. Louis has finally begun to start locking up its draftees. According to agent Sunny Shah of 320 Sports (Twitter link), second-round cornerback Lamarcus Joyner inked his rookie contract today.

Joyner, a member of the Florida State squad that won last season’s BCS National Championship, earned First Team All-ACC and consensus All-American honors in his final year as a Seminole. For the season, the 23-year-old had 69 tackles, two interceptions, three forced fumbles, and 5.5 sacks.

Per Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap, Joyner’s signing bonus as the 41st overall pick should come in at about $1.978MM

NFC West Notes: Seahawks, Cards, Rams, 49ers

May 9th, 2014 at 11:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Seahawks traded down multiple times before picking for the first time in this year’s draft, from 32nd to 40th to 45th. However, when they eventually did make a selection, they nabbed the player they had ticketed for that No. 32 pick in the first place, in Colorado wideout Paul Richardson — Richardson’s name was the one the Seahawks had ready at the end of the first round on Thursday, GM John Schneider told reporters, including Terry Blount of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Here’s more from around the NFC West:

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said his team has interest in a big receiver, but hasn’t found the right guy yet and doesn’t want to force the issue (Twitter link via Blount).
Cardinals GM Steve Keim admitted that he tried to get back into the second round via trade tonight, but didn’t find a taker, as Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com tweets. It’s not clear which player Arizona was targeting.
According to Rams head coach Jeff Fisher, St. Louis suspected that another team wanted to draft Lamarcus Joyner, which is why the Rams moved up to No. 41 to take him. The club the Rams suspected of targeting Joyner then ended up trading down, says Fisher (Twitter link via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com). As Wagoner suggests (via Twitter), the Titans were the only team between No. 41 and the Rams’ original spot to trade down, so perhaps Fisher’s old team was eyeing Joyner as well.
Asked about the possibility of acquiring more draft picks after a flurry of trades today, 49ers GM Trent Baalke replied, “The more darts you have, the more balloons you can pop” (Twitter link via Scott Kegley of 49ers.com).
Baalke also weighed in on the topic of the team’s punt returner, suggesting that it’s not an area the 49ers feel a need to address: “LaMichael James did an excellent job for us a year ago, and that’s his job. We don’t feel an urgency to go out and replace LaMichael. That’s his job” (Sulia link via Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee).