Details On Brandin Cooks' Extension
- We learned earlier today that wideout Brandin Cooks had inked a five-year, $80MM extension with the Rams. NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora tweets that the new deal contains $20.5MM in guaranteed money and a $50.5MM injury guarantee. NFL.com’s Albert Breer clarifies (via Twitter) that the deal will actually total $81MM, with the $16.2MM average annual value trailing only Brown, Mike Evans and DeAndre Hopkins.
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Aaron Donald Expects To Ink Extension Before Camp
The Rams inked wideout Brandin Cooks to a new deal earlier today, meaning the front office will likely shift their focus to extending Aaron Donald. Well, it sounds like the defensive lineman could be inking that lucrative extension relatively soon. NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora tweets that Donald expects to sign a new contract with the organization before training camp.
We heard last month that talks between the two sides had been progressing, but Donald was still a no-show from OTAs and mandatory minicamp. Reports have indicated that the defensive lineman is looking to reset the market and become the highest-paid defensive player in the game. This means the Rams would have to hand out a contract that tops 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 former first-rounder would hit restricted free agency next summer.
Donald certainly isn’t afraid to extend his holdout into training camp and preseason. Last year, Donald ended up missing both, and his absence forced him to miss the first week of the season. If both sides want to avoid the drama this time around, they’ll have to agree on a new deal before Rams’ training camp opens on July 26th.
The 27-year-old has certainly earned the right to be the highest-paid defender, 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 ended up finishing the campaign with 41 tackles, 11 sacks, and a career-high five forced fumbles.
While Cooks (and presumably Donald) won’t be hitting free agency any time soon, one of their teammates will see his contract expire at the end of the season. Yesterday, the Rams failed to reach an agreement with franchised safety Lamarcus Joyner, who will play next season on the tag.
Rams Sign Brandin Cooks To Extension
Brandin Cooks is set to be a member of the Rams for years to come. On Tuesday, the Rams signed Cooks to a five-year extension, according to a team announcement. Cooks is now under club control through the 2023 season. 
The five-year extension is worth $80MM, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). When including his pre-existing 2018 season, he’s tied to L.A. for six years at a total of $88MM. The new money average of $13.3MM per year positions Cooks as the 11th-highest paid wide receiver in the NFL, just behind Allen Robinson and ahead of notables such as T.Y. Hilton, Alshon Jeffery, and Doug Baldwin.
Cooks has four years of NFL experience and has been one of the league’s best wide receivers for the last three. While he has had the benefit of playing for two future Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks in Drew Brees and Tom Brady, there is no denying his individual talent. Many perceive him to be primarily a deep threat, but new head coach Sean McVay sees him as a well-rounded receiver.
“He’s a guy — if you just look at, really, his career — he is a really fast player, but he can do everything,” McVay said. “He plays big for a smaller-stature guy. But he’s strong. He can win short, he can win intermediate, he can go down the field. So I think you’re really not limited in any way that you can utilize him. And there’s a reason why he’s had over 1,000 yards and [at least] seven touchdowns each of the last three years. And he’s a special player for sure.”
This offseason, the Rams shipped a first- and sixth-round pick to the Patriots for Cooks. It was a considerable haul, but the deal gave L.A. the ability to franchise tag Lamarcus Joyner while allowing wide receiver Sammy Watkins to leave in free agency. Cooks also represents a younger – and arguably better – alternative to Watkins.
After giving up a first-round pick for Cooks, there was little chance that the Rams would allow him to walk in free agency next year. Indeed, the Rams moved quickly to begin talks with Cooks with the understanding that they would have to make him one of the highest-paid players at his position.
With Cooks in the books, the Rams can now focus on their other contractual priorities, including defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Joyner, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, and offensive linemen Rodger Saffold, Rob Havenstein, and Jamon Brown are also among those set for free agency after the 2018 season.
No Deals For Bell, Lawrence, Ansah, Or Joyner
None of this year’s franchise tagged players agreed to extensions with their respective teams before Monday’s deadline. That means Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell, Lions defensive end Ziggy Ansah, Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence, and Rams safety Lamarcus Joyner will all play on their tags in 2018. 
Over the weekend, we heard that deals were unlikely for any of the four players. However, we’ve been surprised in the past. You may recall the 2016 franchise tag extension deadline in which Muhammad Wilkerson and the Jets agreed to a buzzer-beating deal after weeks of reports indicating that it would not happen (the Jets certainly wish it hadn’t happened now).
There was no surprise this year, so the four franchise tagged players are all entering contract seasons at the following rates:
- Ezekiel Ansah – $17.1MM
- DeMarcus Lawrence – $17.1MM
- Le’Veon Bell – $14.5MM
- Lamarcus Joyner – ~$12MM
This marks the first ever franchise tag for Ansah, Lawrence, and Joyner. For Bell, this is the second go ’round and it’s incredibly unlikely that the Steelers will consider a third tag, no matter how good he is in 2018.
Per league rules, extension talks cannot resume between the team and the tagged player until after the 2018 season has concluded.
Latest On Franchise-Tagged Players
Monday’s 3pm CT deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign extensions may come and go without one being finalized.
After a Saturday report indicated re-ups were unlikely for DeMarcus Lawrence and Ziggy Ansah, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com confirmed Ansah and the Lions won’t agree to terms by Monday afternoon and adds Lawrence is unlikely to come to terms with the Cowboys (Twitter links).
As for the other two tagged players, prospects also appear grim. Schefter reports (on Twitter) Lamarcus Joyner is not expected to reach an extension with the Rams, though he adds the sides are still discussing one. And despite Mike Tomlin‘s hopes of Le’Veon Bell finally agreeing to a Steelers accord, Schefter reports (via Twitter) that’s unlikely, too. However, the Steelers and Bell have made recent progress and will keep trying until the deadline. But this report throws some cold water on an 11th-hour solution coming to pass.
Ansah and the Lions have been far apart throughout this process, and the Lions are planning to see if their top edge defender can stay healthy and prove reliable enough for a long-term commitment. The Cowboys may be using the same strategy with their injury-prone pass rusher, despite making a stronger effort to discuss a deal with Lawrence.
Bell and the Steelers have been circling each other for years, but if the parties can’t agree by Monday afternoon, their arrangement will be a full-fledged rental situation. Bell will likely be headed toward the 2019 UFA market if the Steelers don’t sign him by Monday. The Rams’ issues with Aaron Donald‘s deal leave Joyner in a strange spot. Los Angeles possesses a league-low $2MM in cap space and has a glut of contract calls coming — Donald, Joyner, Brandin Cooks, Todd Gurley, Marcus Peters — in what will be a complicated stretch for the now-high-profile team.
Of course, by the Lions, Cowboys and Rams not agreeing on deals with their tagged performers, that ups prices down the line. Since Bell has already been twice tagged, it would cost the Steelers a staggering $20MM-plus to tag their All-Pro back again.
Ansah is going to play this season for $17.1MM, and if Lawrence indeed is still without a deal by Monday evening, he will too. Joyner will count nearly $12MM on the Rams’ payroll, while Bell’s $14.5MM 2018 salary has been well-known for months by NFL contract buffs.
Extension Candidate: Brandin Cooks
Immediately after shipping a first- and sixth-round pick to the Patriots in exchange for wide receiver Brandin Cooks earlier this year, the Rams expressed interest in extending Cooks’ contract. And that makes sense, as Los Angeles presumably did not give up that type of draft capital with the intention of getting just one year of service from Cooks, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract.
But, as a young and accomplished wideout in today’s market, Cooks will not come cheap. After the trade to LA was consummated, our Zach Links suggested that the Oregon State product could land a contract approaching Mike Evans‘ recent mega-deal with the Buccaneers, a five-year, $82.5MM pact with up to $55MM in guarantees. While Cooks will almost certainly not get that type of money in an extension with the Rams, he may not be too far away.
Indeed, just last week we learned that Vikings wideout Stefon Diggs could command a deal worth at least $60MM over a four-year term, and he has not had a single 1,000-yard season yet. Cooks, meanwhile, is just a couple of months older than Diggs, and he has topped the 1,000-yard barrier in each of the past three seasons. In his only season in New England, he had 65 grabs for 1,082 yards and seven touchdowns, and he averaged 81 catches for 1,156 yards and eight scores during his final two years with the Saints.
Of course, Cooks has had the benefit of playing for two future Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks in Drew Brees and Tom Brady, but there is no denying his ability. And while many perceive him to be primarily a deep threat, his new head coach, Sean McVay, believes Cooks is a well-rounded receiver. Last month, McVay said of Cooks, “he’s a guy — if you just look at, really, his career — he is a really fast player, but he can do everything. He plays big for a smaller-stature guy. But he’s strong. He can win short, he can win intermediate, he can go down the field. So I think you’re really not limited in any way that you can utilize him. And there’s a reason why he’s had over 1,000 yards and [at least] seven touchdowns each of the last three years. And he’s a special player for sure.”
If the Rams and Cooks are able to come to terms in the next couple of months, it would not be surprising to see Cooks bring home something in the neighborhood of Jarvis Landry‘s new contract with the Browns, which pays him over $15MM per year with $34MM in guaranteed money. Landry and Cooks are quite different in terms of style of play, but in terms of age and track record, they’re pretty similar. Because of his big-play ability, Cooks would probably seek a little more than Landry, which could make him a top-five receiver by AAV.
Since it was reported that the Rams were interested in extending Cooks, there has been no further news on that front, presumably because LA still wants to lock up Aaron Donald before addressing Cooks’ contract situation. If and when the Donald matter gets resolved, though, Cooks could be the next domino to fall. He will lead a strong receiving corps on a team that features a great deal of talent on both sides of the ball and that could be a legitimate title contender.
Lamarcus Joyner Deal Could Be On Hold Because Of Aaron Donald
The deadline to reach deals with players who were franchised tagged was set by the league as July 16th. If a player and a team can’t agree on a deal by then, they aren’t allowed to agree to a longterm deal until after the 2018 season is over. One notable player who’s been tagged is Rams safety Lamarcus Joyner. Joyner remains unsigned, and there has been little progress on a deal according to recent reports. Fellow Rams defensive star Aaron Donald might be one reason why.
The Rams “would probably have a hard time giving big money to Joyner before finally extending the contract of” Donald, writes Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Given how much talk there has been about when Donald will get the contract extension he’s been wanting for over a year now, it might be bad optics for the team to extend Joyner first. Rams fans have been growing impatient with the front office over their inability to cut a deal with Donald. Donald held out all summer last year and ended up missing the first game of the season. If the Rams are reluctant to pay Joyner before Donald is locked up, it could mean Joyner heads into 2019 an unrestricted free agent.
Rams Set To Slot Cory Littleton As Starting LB
- Heading into camp, the Rams are planning to use third-year UDFA Cory Littleton as Alec Ogletree‘s replacement, Lindsay Thiry of ESPN.com notes. Littleton started four games and made 31 tackles last season. Rams LBs coach Joe Barry serves as an important advocate for Littleton, indicating he wanted the undrafted ‘backer in Washington when he was a Redskins assistant two years ago. Now, Littleton will be tasked with a key second-level job on a star-studded defense. “When we were in Washington we loved him,” Barry said, via Thiry. “I was on the table the entire third day of the draft to draft him.”
July 16 Marks NFL’s Franchise Tag Extension Deadline
This year, the deadline for teams to reach extensions with franchise tagged players falls on July 16. If the following four players do not agree to new contracts in the coming days, they will be ticketed for free agency in 2019:
- Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell
- Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah
- Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence
- Rams safety Lamarcus Joyner
For Bell, the absence of a deal all but guarantees that he will be allowed to explore the open market next season. That’s because this is the second year in a row that Bell has been hit with the tag. He’ll make $14.544MM this season if no extension deal is reached, but a third tag would cost Pittsburgh more than $20MM. For the rest, the possibility of a second franchise tag remains, though the requisite 20% increase could prevent teams from applying the tender.
The rules of the franchise tag dictate that teams have until mid-July to hammer out an extension with players. If not, the two sides are barred from engaging in contract talks until after the season has concluded.
From 2013-2017, 16 of the league’s 33 franchise tagged players agreed to extensions before the summer deadline. This year, it’s hard to say whether deals will be reached for any of the players in question. Bell is looking for a deal that will reflect his production as a top running back and a No. 2 wide receiver. The defensive ends, Ansah and Lawrence, know that teams are willing to overpay for quality edge rushers in free agency. Joyner, meanwhile, may be content to let the Rams control his fate since he’ll either make $11MM+ this year and hit free agency, or earn $25MM through two franchise tags and reach the open market in 2020.
Then again, a serious injury could derail any member of this quartet, so there’s something to be said for financial security over monetary upside. Joyner, in particular, could be quietly eager to sign a multi-year deal after watching a dismal free agent safety market play out this offseason.
What we do know for sure is that the next 12 days will be worth monitoring.
Rams’ Jamon Brown Suspended By NFL
Rams offensive guard Jamon Brown has been suspended without pay for the first two games of the regular season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. He’ll be barred from playing against the Raiders and Cardinals before being eligible to return in Week 3 against the Chargers. 
[RELATED: Latest On Aaron Donald, Rams Extension Talks]
Brown, who is entering his fourth year in the NFL, was projected to open the year as the team’s starting right guard. For the first two weeks of the season, the Rams could plug interior lineman Austin Blythe as the starter. Alternatively, they could explore veteran options on the open market.
Last year, Pro Football Focus rated Brown as the 38th best guard in the NFL with an uninspiring 52.1 overall score. He did, however, do a respectable job of run blocking, per the advanced metrics.
Between now and the start of the season, Brown remains eligible to participate in all preseason practices and games.