Lamarcus Joyner

The St. Louis Rams selected Joyner in the second round (41st overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft. Joyner was the fifth safety selected in 2014.[8] The Rams traded their second round (44th overall) and fifth round (153rd overall) to the Buffalo Bills in order to move up and draft Joyner. The Buffalo Bills used their acquired picks to draft Alabama's Cyrus Kouandjio and Baylor's Cyril Richardson.[9]

External video
Rams select Joyner 41st overall
Lamarcus Joyner: First Draft

On June 16, 2014, the St. Louis Rams signed Joyner to a four-year, $5.03 million contract that includes $3.07 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.97 million.[10]

Head coach Jeff Fisher named Joyner the starting nickelback and the third free safety on the Rams' depth chart to begin the regular season.[11]

He made his professional regular season debut in the St. Louis Rams' season-opener against the Minnesota Vikings and recorded three solo tackles during their 34–6 loss. He pushed Greg Jennings out of bounds after an 11-yard reception in the first quarter for his first career regular season tackle.[12] On October 26, 2014, Joyner recorded a season-high ten combined tackles (nine solo) during a 34–7 loss at the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8. On November 9, 2014, Joyner exited in the first quarter of the Rams' 31–14 loss at the Arizona Cardinals after sustaining a groin injury. His groin injury sidelined him for the next three games (Weeks 11–13) and he was replaced by cornerback E. J. Gaines during his absence. Joyner missed another two games (Weeks 14–15) as a healthy scratch after defensive coordinator Gregg Williams opted to retain Gaines at nickelback.[13] In Week 17, Joyner earned his first career start, recorded four combined tackles, and made his first career sack on quarterback Russell Wilson in the Rams' 20–6 loss at the Seattle Seahawks.[14] He finished his rookie season with 40 combined tackles (35 solo), two pass deflections, and a sack in ten games and one start.[15]

He entered camp competing for the job as the first-team nickelback against E.J. Gaines. Joyner became the de facto nickelback after Gaines sustained a lisfranc injury that was expected to sideline him for the entire season.[16]

He appeared in the St. Louis Rams' season-opener against the Seattle Seahawks and recorded a season-high seven solo tackles and a sack on Russell Wilson in their 34–31 loss. On November 9, 2015, Joyner was involved in a controversial play after delivering a late hit on quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in the fourth quarter of the 21–18 overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings. During the play, Bridgewater was performing a baseball slide after running for a five-yard gain and was hit by Joyner and immediately knocked unconscious. The Rams were received a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness and Joyner would subsequently be fined $23,152 by the NFL.[17] On December 6, 2015, Joyner tied his season-high of seven combined tackles and two pass deflections during a 27–3 loss against the Arizona Cardinals.[18] He finished the 2015 season with 72 combined tackles (54 solo), six pass deflections, and two sacks in 16 games and six starts.[15]

During the offseason, the St. Louis Rams officially relocated to Los Angeles, California. Throughout training camp, Joyner competed for the job as a starting cornerback against E.J. Gaines, Coty Sensabaugh, and Marcus Roberson.[19] Head coach Jeff Fisher named Joyner the fourth cornerback on the Rams' depth chart to begin the regular season, behind Trumaine Johnson, E. J. Gaines, and Coty Sensabaugh.[20] On October 16, 2016, Joyner recorded a season-high ten combined tackles (eight solo) and deflected a pass during a 31–28 loss at the Detroit Lions.[21] In Week 4, he made four solo tackles, deflected a pass, and sacked quarterback Ryan Tannehill in the Rams' 14–10 loss to the Miami Dolphins.[21] On December 12, 2016, it was reported that Rams' general manager Les Snead fired head coach Jeff Fisher after the Rams fell to a 4–9 record. Special teams coordinator John Fassel was named the interim head coach for the last three games of the regular season.[22] He finished the 2016 season with 66 combined tackles (50 solo), five pass deflections, and a sack in 14 games and eight starts.[15]

During organized team activities, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips decided to have Joyner work out at free safety.[23] On April 17, 2017, it was reported that Joyner would remain at free safety heading into training camp.[24] He competed for the starting free safety job against Cody Davis and John Johnson. Head coach Sean McVay officially named Joyner the starting free safety, alongside strong safety Maurice Alexander, to begin the regular season.[25]

He started the Los Angeles Rams' season-opener against the Indianapolis Colts and recorded four solo tackles, two pass deflections, and returned an interception by Scott Tolzien for a 29-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of their 46–9 victory.[26] It marked Joyner's first career touchdown in his four-year career.[27] The following week, Joyner recorded a season-high nine combined tackles during a 27–20 loss to the Washington Redskins.[26] He was sidelined for three consecutive games (Weeks 4–6) after sustaining a hamstring injury.[28] On December 3, 2017, he made a season-high three pass deflections, five combined tackles, and returned an interception by Carson Palmer in the Rams' 32–16 victory at the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13.[26] Joyner was inactive for the Rams' Week 17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, due to the decision by head coach Sean McVay to rest him for the playoffs. He finished his first season as the starting free safety with 49 combined tackles (39 solo), nine pass deflections, three interceptions, a forced fumble, and a touchdown in 12 games and 12 starts.[29] Pro Football Focus gave Joyner an overall grade of 90.3, ranking him third among all qualified safeties in 2017.[30]

The Los Angeles Rams finished first in the NFC West with an 11–5 record in their first season under head coach Sean McVay. On January 6, 2018, Joyner started in his first career playoff game and recorded 11 combined tackles (ten solo) in the Rams' 26–13 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Wildcard Game.[26]

On March 6, 2018, the Los Angeles Rams placed their franchise tag tender on Joyner.[31] On April 16, 2018, Joyner signed his one-year, $11.28 million franchise tag to remain with the Rams for the 2018 season.[32] In week 11 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Joyner made his first interception of the season off quarterback Patrick Mahomes II. His interception sealed a 54-51 Rams win. Joyner finished the season with 78 tackles and 1 interception. He helped the Rams reach Super Bowl LIII after they defeated the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints in the playoffs. The Rams would eventually fall 13-3 to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.

On March 14, 2019, Joyner signed a four-year, $42 million contract with the Oakland Raiders.[33] Joyner made his debut with the Raiders in week 1 against the Denver Broncos. In the game, Joyner made 6 tackles in the 24-16 win.[34]

Joyner was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on November 17, 2020,[35] and activated three days later.[36] He was placed back on the COVID-19 list on November 22, 2020.[37] and activated again on December 2, 2020.[38] Joyner was released after the season on March 9, 2021.[39]

Joyner signed a one-year contract with the New York Jets on March 22, 2021.[40] He was placed on injured reserve on September 14, 2021 after suffering an elbow injury in Week 1.[41]

On March 15, 2022, Joyner signed a one-year contract extension with the Jets.[42]