According to Bob McGinn at BobMcGinnFootball.com, the Green Bay Packers are looking to sign former Los Angeles Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson once free agency opens next week.

“Last week, a source said the Packers planned to make a strong run at 28-year-old Ram Trumaine Johnson, probably the best cornerback on the unrestricted free-agent market,” McGinn wrote.

“The problem is that Johnson might warrant a contract averaging about $15 million per year, and unless the Packers either cut or exact pay reductions from wide receivers Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson it might be a stretch to assume they can afford Johnson.”

Spotrac has Johnson’s estimated market at $13.6 million annually. Either way the pendulum swings, the Packers don’t have an abundance of cap space.

Tom Silverstein of PackersNews.com wrote yesterday that the Packers will have $19.7 million in cap space heading into free agency. Despite having 12 draft choices, the Rule of 51 – which dictates only the top 51 contracts count against a team’s salary cap – requires only $3 or $4 million to sign the incoming rookie class.

Trading Damarious Randall for DeShone Kizer cleared a little over $824,000 in cap space, bringing the Packers to roughly $20.5 million below the salary cap.

If the Packers do indeed make a run at Johnson, they might have to get creative in working out the deal, even if he lands at the lower end of salary expectations. Structuring the deal with a lower first-year cap hit is possible, especially with so much money coming off the Packers’ cap after 2018.

The Packers have put themselves into a bit of a hole by releasing Randall. Despite heavy investment at cornerback over the past three years, the Packers are still looking at one returning starter (Kevin King) currently on the roster.

The draft class is deep. However, the Packers have pressing needs in other places as well, including edge rusher, tight end, guard, receiver, and, as an insurance policy against Bryan Bulaga’s health, right tackle.

It seems all but inevitable that the Packers are going to do something with the contracts of Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. They could even restructure and extend Clay Matthews and in turn reduce his cap hit. Depending on how they structure Aaron Rodgers’ contract, they could also get space there.

The tools are there to create space, but there’s only so much they can do, especially if they sign Mo Wilkerson, who visited Green Bay earlier in the week.

Johnson, a third-round pick in 2012, has 18 career interceptions. He’s played the last two seasons under the franchise tag. At 6-2, and with 4.5 speed and 33-inch arms, Johnson could give Mike Pettine’s defense another long, athletic cornerback to lock down the perimeter opposite King.

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