Price is steep to keep cornerback Trumaine Johnson, but Rams' hands are tied

Price is steep to keep cornerback Trumaine Johnson, but Rams' hands are tied

By VINCENT BONSIGNORE / STAFF WRITER

INDIANAPOLIS – At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter whether Trumaine Johnson deserves to make more money than any cornerback in the NFL.

Or that, coming off a 2016 season that wasn't quite as good as the one he delivered in 2015, he still stands to earn a $3 million raise from the $13.9 million he made last season.

All of which moved into the very likely category Wednesday when, as expected, the Rams placed their non-exclusive rights franchise tag on Johnson just hours before the deadline NFL teams get to utilize the designation on pending free agents.

As a result, barring the club and Johnson coming to terms on a long-term deal between now and mid-July – or another team snatching him up and compensating the Rams with two first round picks per the non-exclusive tag rules – the fourth-year defensive back from Montana will make more money than any other cornerback in the league next season.

Is Johnson the best cornerback in the NFL?

Of course not.

He might not even be among the top five, especially coming off an injury riddled season in which he missed two games and his on-field play was a step back from the level he played the season before.

From that standpoint, there is absolutely no case to be made paying him the kind of money he'll likely make next season.

But I reiterate: Whether he deserves it or not is of no significance.

This is a case of a major Rams need trumping the cost it will take to address it.

As thin as the Rams are at cornerback, and as uncertain as the position is right now even with Johnson in the fold, losing him would be a punch even more painful than the blow they'll absorb to the wallet and on their 2017 salary cap.

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