If Joyner, 27, signs the one-year tender, he'll receive $11.28 million this season. Meantime, it seems increasingly likely Watkins will become the odd man out with the Rams also likely to make Aaron Donald the NFL's richest defender at some point this offseason.
So why Joyner over Watkins?
For starters, tagging a safety — and pigeon-holing Joyner as such isn't entirely fair, though we doubt his reps will balk at the designation — instead of a wideout is a cost savings of $4.7 million. Then there's the fact that the Rams have a solid WR corps with Watkins' fellow 2017 newcomers, rookie Cooper Kupp and vet Robert Woods, flourishing in their Tinseltown debuts and rookie Josh Reynolds flashing enough to suggest he might be ready to take on an enhanced role similar to the one Watkins played last season.