Raiders reportedly expected to sign Lamarcus Joyner away from the Rams on a four-year deal
After playing under the franchise tag a year ago, Joyner gets a long-term deal
The Oakland Raiders' spending spree continued late Monday night. This time, they addressed their defense.
As first reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Raiders are expected to sign Lamarcus Joyner away from the Rams. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, it'll be a four-year deal for the 28-year-old safety.
The #Raiders are expected to sign for former #Rams franchise player, safety Lamarcus Joyner, sources say. A free safety that gives them speed in the secondary.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2019
Former Rams’ franchise safety Lamarcus Joyner plans to sign a four-year deal with the Oakland Raiders, per source. Raiders keep spending and keep adding.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2019
The financial aspects of the deal weren't reported, but it's expected to be pricey given Joyner is both a quality player and a safety, a position group that has been getting lucrative deals since the legal tampering period opened on Monday -- most notably with Landon Collins landing with the Redskins and Tyrann Mathieu going to the Chiefs.
All deals won't become official until Wednesday, when the new league year begins.
Joyner is the second big move the Raiders (who also traded for Antonio Brown late Saturday night) made on Monday. First, they signed former Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown to a huge contract. Now, they've added Joyner to shore up a defense that allowed the seventh most yards and the most points a season ago. They still need to address their nonexistent pass rush, but Joyner will help the backend of their defense. And it's worth remembering that even if the Raiders stop spending big in free agency, they still own three first-round picks.
In Joyner, the Raiders are getting a player who notched a career-high 58 solo tackles to go along with one sack, one interception, and a three defended passes. Joyner's breakout season came in 2017, when the new Rams coaching staff moved him from cornerback to safety. He immediately thrived in his new role, racking up three interceptions and nine passes defended, which led to him getting the franchise tag a year ago.
After the Rams signed safety Eric Weddle last week, they were never expected to re-sign Joyner, who checked in at No. 22 on Pete Prisco's list of free agents.
















