The Los Angeles Rams have made an emphasis to improve their roster in the secondary with much of that coming in the way of acquiring talent at the cornerback position. This saw the team in the process of agreeing to trades for All-Pro defensive backs Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib.
Their moves had presumably pushed away from their efforts in bringing back veteran cornerback Trumaine Johnson, which essentially marked his imminent departure in free agency. According to Ian Rapoport of The NFL Network, the 28-year-old is now expected to sign a deal with the New York Jets on Tuesday afternoon.
The #Jets are expected to sign CB Trumaine Johnson to a deal worth roughly $15M per year, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 13, 2018
Johnson had spent his first six seasons with the Rams after being selected in third round of the 2012 NFL Draft, recording 18 total interceptions with 328 total tackles, 67 passes defended, and three defensive touchdowns. During that stretch, he established himself as a dependable cornerback that had shown the capability of being an effective top cornerback in the secondary.
Los Angeles had elected to place the franchise tag on Johnson in each of the last two years as both sides were unable to work out a long-term deal. This time around, the team had reportedly wanted to bring him back once again, but the front office was able to work out a pair of deals for Talib and Peters to strength the cornerback position.
In fact, the Rams were able to acquire two All-Pro talents at a combined salary that was lower than the price tag that Johnson received from the Jets in free agency. The team has also retained veteran cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman on a three-year, $15.75 million deal.
Meanwhile, the Jets were able to address a pressing need in the secondary with the addition of one of the better cornerbacks in the league. Johnson has shown to be a physical and stout defender at the position that could be a strong source of reliability for their secondary next season and beyond.
