LOS ANGELES -- It could have gone either way, really. The Los Angeles Rams went back and forth, agonizing over whether to eventually exhaust their lone franchise tag on defensive back Lamarcus Joyner or wide receiver Sammy Watkins. They want to keep both, couldn't yet sign both, and so the tag's deployment was rooted in strategy.
The Rams ultimately used the non-exclusive franchise tag on Joyner. They did so because the value of his tag -- $11.29 million for safeties, as opposed to $15.98 million for wide receivers -- more closely resembles the average annual value on a potential extension.