The Cleveland Browns are expected to release John Johnson when the new league year begins on March 15. With Johnson set to hit free agency, would a reunion with the Los Angeles Rams make sense?
Entering the offseason, Taylor Rapp and Nick Scott are impending unrestricted free agents for the Rams at the safety position. The Rams have shown over the years that they aren’t keen on paying players at the safety position, which is why Johnson signed with the Browns ahead of the 2021 season.
Buy Rams TicketsThat being said, Johnson was a fantastic contributor on the backend of the secondary for the Rams from 2017 through 2020. The former third-round pick out of Boston College accrued 350 combined tackles, 32 pass breakups, and eight interceptions in his four years with the Rams, including two seasons where he recorded 105-plus tackles.
Even though Johnson lacked consistency with the Browns, he is still only 27 years old. Given his age, production and durability, he could have a decent market once he hits free agency in the coming weeks.
For a reunion between Johnson and the Rams to even be a possibility, it would depend on the contract that the veteran safety is seeking. Is he looking to get a multi-year deal, a contract with a decent amount of guaranteed money, or a one-year, prove-it deal that could potentially get him another worthwhile contract before he turns 30?
If Johnson’s contract desires are somewhere within the same range as Rapp or Scott, then the Rams should undoubtedly consider bringing back the talented safety. That seems unlikely with Johnson expected to drum up interest for safety-needy teams this offseason, though.
The tendency of the Rams not paying safeties, along with them taking quite a few defensive backs in recent drafts, makes it improbable that Johnson would return to Los Angeles in 2023. But crazier things have happened and Johnson would certainly bolster what is expected to be a new-look secondary of the Rams next season.
He also said back in 2021 that he was hoping the Rams would re-sign him, expressing a desire to return to Los Angeles the first time he hit free agency.
