Breaking: Rams Re-Sign a $61 Million Departing star Player Reuniting With A Previously Leashed
The Los Angeles Rams appear set to challenge for the AFC West once more following a surprisingly competitive 2023 “rebuilding” season.
The Los Angeles Rams want to dominate on all sides of the ball.
With an elite receiving corps that includes Cooper Kupp and breakout star Puka Nacua, as well as highly compensated guards Kevin Dotson and former Detroit Lion Jonah Jackson, bookends Alaric Jackson and longtime veteran Rob Havenstein, and perhaps the most underappreciated offensive line in the NFL, the Rams may have the best offensive line in the NFC for quarterback Matthew Stafford to work with.
But what really caught the attention of many LA Rams watchers last season was not just the offense, which ended seventh in total yardage despite Stafford playing in just two games, but also the youthful defense, which was primarily made up of young mid-round draft picks who made significant contributions.
Kobie Turner and Byron Young, two third-round rookie pass rushers who are notoriously tough to draft outside of the first round, combined for 17 sacks; Turner was a nominee for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Moreover, the Los Angeles Rams made the decision to add Tre’Davious White and Darious Williams to the back end in order to strengthen the young cornerback tandem of Derion Kendrick and Cobie Durant.
But now, as Adam Schefter reports, LA has chosen to reunite with a well-known player at the safety position to go with recently signed free agent Kamren Curl.
John Johnson III Returns To The Secondary With Notable Group Of Former Rams
It was evident that the Los Angeles Rams defense as a whole needed reinforcements on all three levels, even with the outstanding coaching of Raheem Morris, the former defensive coordinator and current head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Particularly in light of All-World defensive lineman and potential Hall of Famer Aaron Donald’s somewhat unexpected retirement.
In response, the Rams selected linebacker Jared Verse in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft and then traded up to select Florida State graduate Braden Fiske in the second round. Clearly, the secondary needed the most work, and LA added White, Williams, and Curl to replace three-quarters of the starting lineup from the previous season.
It also represents the continuation of an intriguing trend started by Les Snead’s organization, which has now brought back three former secondary players who left in the last three years to sign larger free agency contracts.
While Darious Williams inked a three-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022, Troy Hill and John Johnson III both left for the Cleveland Browns in 2021.
Since then, all three of them have made a comeback: Williams spent two seasons with the Browns before being released this past offseason, Johnson spent two seasons with the Browns before being released and later acquired by Los Angeles, and Hill was traded back to the Rams for a fifth-round pick in 2022 before signing with the Carolina Panthers in 2023.
Despite receiving a relatively low grade of 55.8 in the sometimes dubious PFF rankings, he played a much better game in real life. He managed to regain a starting position in the lineup after beginning the season as a rotational player, eventually taking on a leadership role in the young Rams secondary.
Johnson is unquestionably still a valuable, seasoned starter who benefits the club both on and off the field, even though he isn’t quite the nearly exceptional safety he was two or three years ago.
