Trumaine Johnson's five-year deal with Jets reportedly worth $72.5 million

The best free agent cornerback is off the market as the ex-Ram chooses to go to New York

After being franchise tagged by the Rams in each of the past two offseasons, Trumaine Johnson has finally been granted the freedom to pursue a long-term contract with a new team. On Tuesday, Johnson -- the top available free agent at cornerback -- found his new home. 

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Johnson will sign with the New York Jets. ESPN's Dan Graziano revealed the terms of the deal on Friday:

Trumaine Johnson's 5-year, $72.5M deal with the Jets includes a $20M signing bonus and fully guaranteed salaries of $6M in 2018 and $8M in 2019. That's $34M fully guaranteed at signing, plus an $11M 2020 salary guaranteed against injury.

— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) March 16, 2018

Earlier on Tuesday, the Titans handed Malcolm Butler a five-year deal valued at more than $61 million, so Johnson's contract is worth more per year. A decent comparison might end up being Josh Norman's deal. When the Redskins signed Norman in 2016, they gave him $75 million over five years.

It was expensive, but the Jets just bought a legitimate CB1. Since 2015, Johnson's collected 10 interceptions and 41 pass breakups. In 2015, he allowed a 55.0 passer rating in coverage, which ranked second among qualified cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. He surrendered higher passer ratings in the following seasons (89.4 in 2016 and 79.8 in 2017), but maintained his status as an elite cornerback, which is why the Rams kept franchise-tagging him until it got to the point where they had to let him test free agency. As expected, he eventually got the long-term deal he desired. He checked in at No. 4 on Pete Prisco's free agent rankings.

You put Trumaine Johnson with Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye, and Todd Bowles finally has the kind of secondary he's always envisioned. They'll be real good if they can add another CB, maybe Claiborne. #Jets

— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) March 13, 2018

Johnson is a nice consolation prize for the rebuilding Jets, who saw free agency begin with Kirk Cousins spurning them for the Vikings. The Jets have since responded by bringing back bridge quarterback Josh McCown on a one-year deal, signing running Isaiah Crowell to a three-year deal, and now securing the best cornerback available -- a deal that might not have been able to happen if Cousins had chosen to sign with the Jets. 

The McCown deal doesn't deserve much -- if any -- praise, but getting an explosive 25-year-old running back with potential and a 28-year-old CB1 in one day should manufacture some excitement within the Jets' building. Those are pieces that should play a role once the Jets' rebuild is completed. Now, they desperately need to identify their quarterback of the future, which will most likely happen via the draft.