L.A. Rams leaning toward tagging Trumaine Johnson

The want to keep in the fold, and they’re willing to use the franchise tag in order to make it happen.The are leaning toward franchise tagging the fifth-year cornerback, sources informed of the team’s thinking on Saturday. The move would be somewhat unexpected since the team still needs to sign cornerback to a long-term contract.A cornerback of Johnson’s caliber would be poised for a big pay day if he hit the open market. The have more than after cutting , James Laurinaitis and last week, so there’s still a chance they could sign Jenkins ( Drew Hutchison Jersey or Johnson) before the start of the free-agency signing period on March 9. general manager Les Snead said determining Johnson and Jenkins’ futures was the team’s top priority heading into the NFL .”We will meet with their reps, maybe more than one time at this combine,” Snead said Thursday in Indianapolis. “I’m not saying anything gets done. We have a lot of things going on, but that’s priority A.”It seems as if the , at this point, are more worried about losing Johnson than they are about Jenkins potentially becoming a free agent. The have until Tuesday to decide whether they want to designate Johnson with the franchise tag.Last season, the hard-hitting Johnson finished with 58 tackles and seven interceptions. Jenkins, who was selected ahead of Johnson in the 2012 draft by the , had 56 tackles and three interceptions. Both players were ranked near the top of ‘s .