Rams Notes: Donald, Gurley, Austin
- Are the Rams concerned about giving Aaron Donald big money? Mike Florio of PFT wonders aloud if the Rams are wary of paying Donald only to watch him take his foot off of the gas, like other defensive tackles have done before him. Most notably, former standout Albert Haynesworth tanked after signing a $100MM deal with the Redskins.
- Todd Gurley‘s new $57.5MM extension with the Rams is a rarity in the NFL, Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap writes. That’s because Gurley’s new contract represents a 74% uptick over the second highest paid running back in the NFL and a 110% increase over the fifth highest paid RB. The last player to sign a deal like this was Ndamukong Suh and that was as an unrestricted free agent and his increases were closer to 50% and 75%, respectively. Fitzgerald also believes that the Rams’ ill-fated extension with Tavon Austin hurt their leverage with Gurley.
Todd Gurley Contract Details
- Todd Gurley‘s new four-year extension with the Rams has a base value of $57.5MM, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has provided the remaining details of the pact. Gurley received a $21MM signing bonus and will have $26.95MM fully guaranteed at signing, but his practical guarantees are much greater than that. Unless Gurley is cut after the 2018 campaign, he’ll bring in $34.5MM by the third day of the 2019 league year. As Joel Corry of CBSSports.com tweets, Gurley’s 2018 cap charge actually increased by ~$2.6MM as a result of the extension,
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/25/18
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: DB Terrance Parks
Buffalo Bills
- Released: DL Tenny Palepoi
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: TE Cam Serigne
- Released: DT Drew Iddings
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR Mark Chapman
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: WR Adonis Jennings, Kyle Lewis
Indianpolis Colts
- Signed: S Shamarko Thomas
- Waived: CB Juante Baldwin
Los Angeles Chargers
- Waived: OL Donavon Clark
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: WR Aaron Lacombe, WR Khadarel Lott, WR JoJo Natson
- Waived: WR LaQuvionte Gonzalez, WR Ricky Jeune
New York Giants
- Signed: DT Izaah Lunsford
- Waived: TE Kyle Carter, P Taylor Symmank
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Waived/injured: DB Trey Johnson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: S Josh Liddell, T Jerry Ugokwe
- Waived/Injured: DT Channing Ward
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DE Claude Pelon
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DB Prince Charles Iworah
- Waived/Injured: RB Keith Marshall
Rams Notes: Goff, Donald, Gurley
The Rams’ goal is to win while quarterback Jared Goff is still cheap, Michael David Smith of PFT writes. The Rams spent lavishly this offseason, giving new deals to Brandin Cooks and Todd Gurley while adding the likes of Ndamukong Suh and Aqib Talib. Beyond that, there’s a fat contract likely coming for Aaron Donald and four of last year’s players (Andrew Whitworth, Lamarcus Joyner, Michael Brockers, and Mark Barron) have cap hits in excess of $10MM. These expenditures are only possible because Goff is on his rookie deal with a cap hit of less than $8MM this season.
At some point, however, the Rams will have to pay Goff something close to fair market value. In 2020, the Rams will have to retain him via the $20MM+ fifth-year option or sign him to a lucrative new contract. By then, the Rams will have some very difficult choices to make.
Here’s more from L.A.:
- Donald is nowhere to be found as Rams training camp gets underway, but GM Les Snead isn’t panicking. At least, not publicly. “We’re simultaneously working to make Aaron a Ram a long time – that’s the goal,” Snead said (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). “I know we’ll get questions about him, but Aaron’s a big part of who we are, where we want to go. We’re going to continue working to get something done with Aaron.”
- If Donald’s holdout extends beyond August 7, he will not accrue a fourth year of service for free agency. That’s because even though Donald would be a restricted free agent in 2019 without a new deal, a franchise tag would still be likely (Twitter link via Joel Corry of CBSSports.com). Without the franchise tag, it’s very probable that teams would entertain offer sheets for Donald on a first-round RFA tender.
- The details are in on Gurley’s new deal, and it’s an impressive haul for the young running back.
Rams’ Aaron Donald Doesn’t Show For Camp
No surprise here, but Aaron Donald is not with the Rams as they begin training camp this week. This now marks the second straight season in which Donald has stayed away from the club in July. 
Donald will be subject to fines for missing the team’s mandatory practices, but his strategy could pay off in the long run as he pressures the team for a market-setting extension. The 27-year-old is gunning to become the league’s highest-paid defender and it’s hard to argue against him when looking at his performance. The defensive tackle has earned four straight Pro Bowl nods and three straight first-team All-Pro honors. Last year, he was extremely productive despite missing two games and finished out with eleven sacks from the interior and a career-high five forced fumbles.
This week, Donald watched two other high-profile teammates secure massive extensions of their own. First, wide receiver Brandin Cooks agreed to a five-year, $80MM+ deal with upwards of $50MM guaranteed. Then, Todd Gurley moved the needle for running backs with his four-year, $60MM extension. Donald may be frustrated by the Rams’ decision to prioritize others over him, but it’s unlikely to prevent a deal from coming together.
For what it’s worth, the Rams have expressed optimism about getting a deal done this summer.
“I think when you build stadiums like this, it’s with players like Aaron Donald in mind,” Rams COO and VP Kevin Demoff said recently. “And we’ve been at this process, working with them for the past year and a half to try to make sure that Aaron is not only here for the opening of the stadium but plays well into his years. And that he can play in the 2022 Super Bowl in his own home stadium. So we’re working on it and we’ll keep pushing forward. The dialogue’s been great. It’s been positive. I think [Donald] and coach [Sean] McVay have a terrific relationship. We look forward to getting this done. And putting Aaron in the place where he should be among the highest-paid defensive players.”
Todd Gurley Contract Details
The base value of Todd Gurley‘s four-year extension with the Rams in $57.5MM, tweets Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, who confirms previous reports that Gurley can max out at $60MM from 2020-2023. Gurley is now the NFL’s second-highest-paid running back to the Steelers’ Le’Veon Bell, as Gurley will earn $14.375MM annually compared to Bell’s franchise tag value of $14.544MM. Of course, Bell is only playing on a one-year tag, so Gurley now holds the most lucrative multi-year deal in the league. Gurley reportedly received $45MM in guarantees, although it’s unclear whether that total refers to injury guarantees or full guarantees at signing.
Rams Rumors: Donald, Gurley, Cooks
A specific provision in the CBA means that a holdout for Aaron Donald would be particularly costly if it continues into the preseason. The CBA dictates that players in the midst of their fifth-year option are subject to daily fines of $30K during preseason training camp, which is less than the usual $40K fine. However, each missed preseason game for fifth-year option players results in a fine equivalent to one week of regular season salary, Mike Florio of PFT notes.
For Donald, a holdout lingering into the preseason will cost him $405K per game. If he were to miss the full preseason, that would come out to more than $1.62MM of his $6.892MM salary. That doesn’t ensure Donald will show up for the exhibition games, but it’s certainly something for the defensive standout to think about.
Here’s more from sunny L.A.:
- The Rams’ new deal for running back Todd Gurley is a game-changer for obvious reasons, but Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap (Twitter link) sees it as a potential turning point for some less obvious factors as well. He wonders aloud if elite running backs like Gurley with today’s lighter workload and better conditioning can last longer than the last set of backs who hurt the market. If that’s the case, then the running back market may finally move on a trajectory similar to other key positions.
- We have the details on Brandin Cooks‘ new deal with the Rams, courtesy of Ben Volin of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). Cooks will receive a whopping $50.46MM guaranteed and will carry a $27.46MM cap number in 2019 and a $20.36MM figure in ’20.
- The Cooks deal is a huge investment for a player who has been traded twice in two years and hasn’t played a down for the team he is currently under contract with, Fitzgerald writes. His cashflow is also extremely impressive when compared to the league’s other top wide receivers. He’ll receive the largest Year 1 take home of any wide receiver and, after two years, he’ll earn more than any player except for Antonio Brown. The flow tails off a bit in the fourth and fifth years of the deal, but he can top every other receiver in those seasons via incentives.
- On Tuesday, the Rams signed defensive end Ryan Davis.
Rams Sign DE Ryan Davis
Former Jaguars, Cowboys and Bills defensive end Ryan Davis has signed with the Rams, a league source tells Mike Kaye of First Coast News (on Twitter). Details of the deal are not yet known. 
Davis, 29, appeared in all of the Bills’ regular-season contests last season, as well as their postseason game, and recorded three sacks. In March, the Bills released him in order to escape his $1.28MM cap hit for 2018.
The Rams are not short on front seven talent, but it never hurts to look at depth options when rosters are still at their 90-man max. In their 3-4 set, the Rams project to start Ndamukong Suh, Michael Brockers, and Aaron Donald up front with Ethan Westbrooks and fourth-round pick John Franklin-Myers serving as the top defensive ends off of the bench. Westbrooks and Franklin-Myers are virtual locks for the roster, but Davis may be able to creep in behind them.
Davis recorded a career-high 6.5 sacks in 2014, but has not been able to replicate that performance over the last three years. He’ll try to get back on track and make the cut in L.A. this summer.
Rams, Todd Gurley Agree To Extension
Todd Gurley isn’t going anywhere. The Rams agreed to a four-year extension with their prized running back that can be worth up to $60MM, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Gurley was set to hit the open market after the 2019 season, but he’s now under club control through 2023.
[RELATED: Rams Sign Brandin Cooks To Extension]
The deal includes $45MM guaranteed, according to Schefter, which is the largest guarantee ever given to a running back. We’ll have to wait for final word on whether that’s $45MM guaranteed at signing or just $45MM guaranteed for injury, but it’s a substantial commitment either way. The contract also gives Gurley a new money average of $15MM/year, which tops all running backs. It’s a new benchmark for David Johnson and Ezekiel Elliott to shoot for in their forthcoming extension talks, and a target for free-agent-to-be Le’Veon Bell as well.
The running back market has been stagnant for a long time in the NFL, but this is a contract that truly moves the needle. Prior to Gurley’s deal, Bell had the largest annual average value of RBs with his franchise tag of $14.54MM. For multi-year deals, Devonta Freeman was the kingpin with an average of $8.25MM per year. In terms of total guarantees, rookie Saquon Barkley had the crown with $31.2MM secured, followed by fellow youngsters Leonard Fournette and Elliott.
It remains to be seen how teammate Aaron Donald will react to the news of Gurley’s new deal. While Donald has been staying away from the team in an effort to get an extension, the Rams have given Gurley and wide receiver Brandin Cooks contracts to reset the market at their respective positions. Cooks and Gurley showed up for team activities this offseason, so it’s possible the Rams are sending a message by completing their deals first.
Last year, Gurley finished second in MVP voting as he ran for 1,305 yards and a league-leading 13 touchdowns. With an average of 4.7 yards per carry as well as 64 catches for 788 yards and six receiving touchdowns, he was a no-brainer choice for the Pro Bowl and a First-Team All-Pro selection. Not too shabby for a running back who celebrates his 24th birthday next week.
Examining Gap Between Rams, Aaron Donald
- The Rams and defensive tackle Aaron Donald haven’t yet hammered out a new contract, leading Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk to analyze why talks haven’t led to an extension. Los Angeles holds an enormous amount of leverage over Donald, as they can control his rights through the 2020 season thanks to his fifth-year option and two potential franchise tags. That strategy would only cost the Rams roughly $40MM over the next three seasons, a pittance given Donald’s status as the NFL’s best defensive player. As Florio notes, Donald is probably looking for at least $60MM over the next three years, so a gap of at least $20MM exists. For what it’s worth, Donald reportedly expects to receive a fresh pact before training camp opens.