Los Angeles Rams trade rumors: Trumaine Johnson on the block

The Los Angeles Rams have franchise tagged cornerback Trumaine Johnson for the second year in a row. Are they seriously considering trading the guy?

Seven players in the NFL were hit with the franchise tag for the 2017 NFL season. One of whom was tagged for the second year in a row in Los Angeles Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson. He played the 2016 season on the tag, costing Los Angeles $13,952,000. Tagging him for 2017 means the Rams will have to pay him $16,742,400.

The former standout with the Montana Grizzlies has made a small fortune the last two years playing for the dysfunctional Rams. Now it seems that he might be on the trading block heading into free agency.

According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, “the Rams are in discussions with several teams about potentially trading franchised [cornerback] Trumaine Johnson, per teams involved.”

The Rams didn’t have a ton of cap space to begin with in free agency. General manager Les Snead has roughly $19,269,102 to work with this offseason. While he won’t have a bevy of draft picks to work with because of the Jared Goff trade, why would the Rams double-down on tagging Johnson if they were thinking about trading him?

Johnson wasn’t going to command the value of the tag on the open market, so tagging him in the first place shows a lack of confidence Los Angeles has in its ability to land free agents. Tagging Johnson and then trying to trade him is a very strange leverage play for a non-quarterback.

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One would think that new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips would want a solid top-tier cornerback the caliber of Johnson in his secondary. The Rams are facing the realization that maybe the new kids in town in the Los Angeles Chargers are going to steal some of their fans. It doesn’t matter that the Chargers will be playing in a soccer stadium the next two years, they’ll be the better football team over the Rams going forward.