The Los Angeles Rams announced that they have agreed to terms with veteran defensive back John Johnson III in free agency. This will mark Johnson’s third stint with the Rams.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed but it is presumably a one-year deal for the 28-year-old.
Johnson was originally drafted by the Rams in the third round in 2017 out of Boston College. He immediately became one of the team’s leaders and in four seasons totaled 350 tackles, eight interceptions and 32 passes defensed.
In 2021, Johnson would leave the Rams to sign a big three-year deal with the Cleveland Browns where he continued his strong play. But the Browns decided to release Johnson last offseason, which led him back to the Rams.
Johnson was one of the team’s late offseason additions at the start of training camp with Sean McVay looking to bring in a veteran presence for his otherwise young secondary. Despite being a late addition, Johnson still played in all 17 games for L.A. and started eight of them, recording 44 total tackles with six passes defensed and two interceptions.
The 28-year-old is clearly happy to be sticking around with the Rams and took to social media to celebrate:
— John Johnson III (@iamjohnthethird) July 4, 2024
Johnson will again be tasked with providing leadership for the Rams’ safety room, especially after the departure of Jordan Fuller in free agency this offseason.
Adding to the secondary was clearly a big focus for the Rams this offseason as in addition to Johnson, they also signed another safety in Kamren Curl and drafted one in Kamren Kinchens. They then brought in a pair of veteran cornerbacks in Darious Williams and Tre’Davious White.
With all of these additions, the Rams actually have a ton of depth in their secondary a young players like Cobie Durant, Derion Kendrick, Tre Tomlinson, Quentin Lake and Russ Yeast are still on the roster as well. That should make for some interesting competition in training camp as they all battle for playing time.
Sean McVay compares Rams safety Kamren Kurl to Mark Barron
One person who is high on what new Rams safety Kamren Kurl will bring to the team is head coach Sean McVay, who compared him to Mark Barron.
“Kam Curl is a guy that, and I say this in the most complimentary way because I love this guy, he reminds me of Mark Barron. Mark Barron was like a silent assassin. He takes everything in, he’s so smart, he’s tough as (expletive). Kam Curl has a similar demeanor and disposition as him. now, Mark will knock you – he was a total G, but I say that in terms of how much confidence I have in what Kam can be.
“I thought you saw him do a lot of stuff in Washington where he can come down and play man coverage on different guys at that two or three location. He’s violent with the way he attacks the football. I like the way that he’s a close-quarter tackler and then you can see him playing different parts of the field. We’ll ask him to do some different stuff, but the game makes sense to him. You ask him a question and he’s answering it. He picks and chooses his words wisely. This guy’s taking everything in, he knows what the hell’s going on and he’s a grown man.”
