The Oakland Raiders and former Rams safety Lamarcus Joyner have agreed to terms on a four year, $41 million deal. Joyner had spent the last five years with the Rams.
The St. Louis Rams traded up in the 2014 NFL Draft to select Joyner 41st overall. Joyner saw early success as a nickel cornerback for the team. He saw his role reduced by Jeff Fisher heading into the 2016 season, which was well-documented in HBO’s Hard Knocks series. Joyner had a career resurgence after being moved to free safety by Wade Phillips in 2017. The Rams placed the franchise tag on Joyner prior to the 2018 season.
Joyner’s decision made sense for both sides. The Rams didn’t have the money to give Joyner a long-term contract and replaced him with a cheaper veteran in Eric Weddle. Joyner gets a well-deserved payday in Oakland and a chance to be leader on defense when the team heads to Las Vegas in 2020. Additionally, the Rams will gain a valuable compensatory draft pick thanks to Joyner’s new contract.
Lamarcus Joyner leaves the Rams with 305 total tackles and four interceptions in 67 career games. Stay tuned to Rams Talk for more free agency news.
Steve Rebeiro is a staff writer and host of the Butting Heads podcast for Rams Talk. He is an alumni of Marquette University. For more of his opinions, follow him on Twitter here.
