‘I know my worth’: JJ will be hard for Rams to afford...

'I know my worth': John Johnson will be hard for Rams to afford

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

Cameron DaSilva

With limited cap space and a number of key players hitting the free-agent market, the Los Angeles Rams are set to lose at least a few starters this offseason – just as they did last year. Among the players set to become free agents is John Johnson, who’s blossomed into one of the best safeties in the NFL despite never being recognized as a Pro Bowler.

Johnson has everything you want in a safety in today’s game. He’s fast, can play deep or in the box, can match up with tight ends in man coverage, takes great angles to ball carriers and is a sure tackler who can also lay the wood on receivers coming over the middle; just ask DK Metcalf about that.

As a do-it-all safety, Johnson will be an asset in free agency – one the Rams may not be able to afford. Johnson went on Instagram Live on Thursday and discussing his pending free agency, and it sure sounds like the Rams will be letting him hit the market rather than re-signing him ahead of time.

His pinned message on the stream was this: “I got fired on my day off.”

Obviously, Johnson didn’t get fired and he’s technically under contract until the new league year begins in March, but he sounds like a guy who will test the market.

“I’m on a job search right now. I’m just a free agent. My contract is up. It’s up and it’s not stuck nowhere. It’s up and it’s not stuck,” Johnson told viewers.

His value to the Rams is undeniable. He’s a big reason the Rams allowed just four passes of at least 40 yards during the regular season, which was the fewest in the NFL. He helps take away the deep part of the field, which is incredibly valuable.

But his value on the market will be something that’s discussed often in the next couple of months. He knows how much he’s worth, and it’s more than just $10 million per year.

“Sign a two-year, $20 million deal with the Rams?” Johnson said after a viewer suggested it on the stream.” You sleep, buddy. I know my worth.”

He continued: “I’m going to tell y’all something because I’ve been getting a lot of DMs and all types of whatever. If it’s up to me, I would’ve already had a deal, ladies and gentlemen,” he said. “It’s not up to me. It’s up to god. You understand what I’m saying? It’s up to god. It’s not up to me. It’s all a plan. It’s a divine order.

“Y’all got me from February to April, May. But come May, it’s boomin’, it’s up,” he said.

Right now, Budda Baker is the highest-paid safety in the NFL at $14.75 million. Eddie Jackson, Kevin Byard, Tyrann Mathieu and Landon Collins are all close behind, earning at least $14 million per year.

Then there’s a drop-off to the next-closest safety, with Devin McCourty earning $11.5 million per year in New England. That should be seen as Johnson’s floor, but he’s much more likely to push $14 million per year like Collins and Mathieu.


(AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
The Rams don’t typically re-sign their home-grown defensive backs, particularly safeties (See: Lamarcus Joyner, T.J. McDonald, Rodney McLeod), so it’s hard to see them coming up with the money to pay Johnson, say, $14 million per year or more.

They could franchise tag him, which comes with an estimated $10.9 million price tag, per Over The Cap, but that’s still a big number for a team that doesn’t typically pay big money for safeties.

Johnson is absolutely worth it, but the Rams have younger and cheaper options already on the roster in Jordan Fuller, Taylor Rapp, Terrell Burgess and Nick Scott. Johnson knows it’s a business, and based on the way he’s talking, he knows the Rams probably won’t pony up the cash to keep him in L.A.

To end his livestream, Johnson asked fans for suggestions on which team he should go to this offseason. The first four suggested the Rams, but the last viewer pitched the Raiders.

“Do you know who the Raiders GM is?” Johnson asked.

“Mike Mayock,” the fan replied.

“Do you know where he went to school?” Johnson said.

“Boston College?” the fan asked.

Johnson nodded his head and laughed with a big smile.

“I gotta get off of here. Y’all gonna get me in trouble. I gotta get off of here,” Johnson said right before ending the stream.

If the Rams want to keep Johnson around for another year and beyond, they’ll have a lot of competition on the open market – and the Raiders seem like a landing spot Johnson would very much enjoy.