Rams COO Kevin Demoff said back in March that Los Angeles was trying to leave space in the salary cap for Jalen Ramsey, Cooper Kupp and John Johnson, all of whom were set to hit free agency in 2021.
They took care of Ramsey and Kupp, but Johnson remains without an extension – and there have been no whispers that the two sides are even talking about a new contract. Johnson has said multiple times that he’s not bothered by this being a contract year for him, and that he plans to earn a lucrative contract somewhere next year.
But is it still possible for the Rams to be the team that rewards him?
After seeing them give Kupp $48 million for three years and Ramsey $105 million across five years, it’s hard to see how a contract for Johnson fits in. As of now, Jared Goff, Aaron Donald and Ramsey will all count at least $19 million towards the cap in each of the next four seasons after 2020.
When you add in Kupp’s contract, which runs through 2023, with around $16 million cap hits each season, the Rams’ cap situation gets extremely top-heavy. We don’t yet know Kupp’s cap hits per year yet, but if we project it at $16 million, Kupp, Goff, Donald and Ramsey will cost the Rams about $103 million in cap space next year.
Goff: $36.6 million cap hit
Donald: $27.9 million cap hit
Ramsey: $22.5 million cap hit
Kupp: $16 million cap hit (projected)
Total: $103 million
Of course, the Rams could’ve structured Kupp’s deal in a way where his cap hit is lower next year, thus saving room for other players, but if not, those four players will take up about 58.5% of the Rams’ salary cap – if it drops to the floor of $176 million that the NFL set.
Looking at the safety market, Johnson is probably going to look for at least $14 million, which Landon Collins and Tyrann Mathieu are making. Kevin Byard, Eddie Jackson and Budda Baker both eclipsed that number, but $14 million should be the target for Johnson, assuming he has a good year in 2020.
The Rams can afford to sign him, but it will really strap them financially for the rest of the roster. It’d likely force them to let Austin Blythe, Troy Hill, Gerald Everett and Josh Reynolds leave, all of whom are key players.
Ultimately, it’s difficult to see the team re-signing Johnson, especially with the front office’s history of not paying defensive backs (see: Marcus Peters, Trumaine Johnson, E.J. Gaines, T.J. McDonald). He’ll cash in somewhere, it just probably won’t be with the Rams.