Los Angeles Rams News & Rumors

Earlier today, our own Zach Links explained how Rams defensive end Aaron Donald would become a restricted free agent next offseason if he failed to attend training camp by tomorrow. Well, it sounds like that will end up being the case, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the Pro Bowler “has no plans to rejoin the team” as he pursues a contract extension. Schefter notes that Donald won’t be at camp on Tuesday, “nor anytime soon.”

Earlier today, Rams coach Sean McVay seemed to echo that sentiment, telling Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times that he didn’t expect the two sides to agree to a contract extension.

“I don’t think anything’s going to change with that in the near future. I’ve had a little bit of dialogue with Aaron and we’re hopeful that we’ll get something done,” McVay said (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com). “I don’t think there’s any realistic deal to kind of that August 7 being a date that changes really anything. But you never know. And things remain the same. I’m looking forward to trying to connect with him later today and we’ll see where we’re at.”

As Zach explained earlier today, Donald’s presumable restricted free agent status shouldn’t be that big of a deal to the player. The Rams will likely franchise the 27-year-old since they’d risk another team signing him to a first-round tender, thus earning the defender a nice payday. However, Donald will start to lose money if he misses Thursday’s preseason opener, as the Rams are allowed to fine him a regular season game check for every exhibition game he misses. Donald could sacrifice up to $3.2MM if he fails to report prior to the regular season.

Previous reports hinted that the defensive lineman is looking to reset the market and become the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL. This means the Rams would have to hand out a contract that beats Von Miller‘s league-leading average annual salary of $19.1MM. At the very least, we know Donald is surely looking for a raise on the $6.89MM he’s slated to make next season.

The 27-year-old has certainly earned the right to be the highest-paid defender in the league, as he’s garnered four straight Pro Bowl nods and three straight first-team All-Pro honors. While he ultimately missed a pair of games last season, the defensive lineman was still plenty productive. Donald finished the campaign with 41 tackles, 11 sacks, and a career-high five forced fumbles.

If Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald does not report to camp by Tuesday, he will loose an accrued season. That would make Donald a restricted free agent after the 2018 season, as opposed to an unrestricted free agent. 

That’s a big deal, or at least, it would be a big deal for most players. In the case of Donald, he doesn’t see restricted free agency as a major issue since the team will likely franchise tag him anyway. As an RFA without a franchise tag, teams would be likely to consider a first-round tender for Donald, and that’s not something the Rams want to chance.

Ultimately, Donald would still prefer to be on course for unrestricted free agency, but it’s a sacrifice that he’s willing to make in order to get what he wants. The truly hard decisions begin on Thursday, the date of the Rams’ first preseason games. Donald can be fined a regular season game check for every exhibition game he misses, and the fines could total more than $3.2MM if he does not show up between now and the start of the season.

Donald’s camp has been indicating that he will not report to the Rams until he gets a new contract, so this could potentially turn into a messy situation.