The Los Angeles Rams made headlines with the acquisition of All-Pro cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib this offseason. However, they managed to secure the secondary by slapping the franchise tag on safety Lamarcus Joyner.

Despite the tag, the Rams still expressed plenty of optimism that they would get a long0-term deal done by the deadline on July 16th. Unfortunately, it does not appear as though both sides will come to terms according to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter:

No long-term deal is expected between Los Angeles and Rams’ franchised S Lamarcus Joyner by Monday’s 4 pm ET deadline, though the two sides continue talking, per league sources. If no deal, Joyner would be scheduled to become a free agent after this season.

The lack of a long-term deal getting done this summer is not the end of the world. However, it would have been one less item for Los Angeles to worry about come next offseason. Regardless, they can at least take solace in the fact that Joyner will be around for the 2018 NFL season.

The Rams are projected to have one of the premier secondaries in the league with the addition of Talib and Peters. However, the emergence of Joyner and safety John Johnson over the top has helped solidify this notion.

He played extremely well in his first full season at safety and even established himself as one of the best in the league. Joyner finished the 2017 campaign with 49 tackles, three interceptions, and a forced fumble. That said, it appears Los Angeles will wait another year before having to cough up the big bucks for his services.