NFC West Rumors: Donald, Wright, Cards
The Rams seem to be preparing their fans for a contract coronation soon, continuing to declare they’re near the goal line of the Aaron Donald negotiations. After Sean McVay made comments about the Donald deal being close to completed, Rams GM Les Snead confirmed this two-offseason saga is nearing completion. He added, via Pro Football Talk, nothing’s been agreed to just yet. After Donald reported into the regular season and won defensive player of the year acclaim despite being in a new defense, the fifth-year player’s late arrival probably won’t mean much to the Rams. But the results of this process will be plenty important for Khalil Mack and others seeking to raise a defensive salary ceiling that’s remained stagnant for two years as quarterbacks’ wages have skyrocketed.
Over the past year alone, the top of the QB market has climbed by 24 percent, with Joel Corry of CBS Sports tweeting Donald or Mack will have to sign for a $23.66MM deal to match that kind of increase. Von Miller‘s $19MM-AAV agreement — signed in July 2016, when the highest-paid quarterback wasn’t yet making $25MM per year — remains the top defender contract.
More from the NFC West, moving to another longtime defensive starter, here:
- A Seahawks defense that already jettisoned four Super Bowl-era starters this offseason may be without another in Week 1. K.J. Wright underwent surgery on Monday and probably won’t be ready when the Seahawks face the Broncos next Sunday, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times notes. Pete Carroll categorized this procedure as a “cleanup” but said a couple of weeks would be the most optimistic timeline. Shaquem Griffin‘s first start, then, figures to occur sooner than expected. Condotta confirms the fifth-round rookie will start if Wright can’t go.
- Jonathan Cooper went from signing a near-$5MM contract with the 49ers this spring to possibly being a post-preseason casualty. A slow recovery from knee surgery has Cooper on the 49ers’ bubble, Corry notes. Cutting Cooper, who is behind Mike Person and Joshua Garnett at right guard, would cost the team $4.48MM in dead money.
- Two notable names appear to be competing for the final Cardinals receiver spot. Former Cowboys rotational cog Brice Butler signed a two-year Cardinals deal but is not a lock to make the team. He and one-time Browns second-round pick Greg Little, who hasn’t played since 2014, may be vying for one job, with Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com writing he wouldn’t be surprised if Little beats out Butler. He has Butler making the team ahead of Little, however. A Butler cut would cost the Cards $500K in dead money.
Finish Line In Sight For Rams, Aaron Donald?
Sean McVay seems confident he’ll have his best player available soon, continuing the momentum that’s been building as August’s progressed.
Addressing the Aaron Donald situation, the second-year Rams HC said (via ESPN.com’s Lindsay Thiry, on Twitter), “We are very optimistic. Seriously, we are.” McVay said a lot has changed the past few days on this front and believes the finish line is finally in sight, per Vincent Bonsignore of The Athletic (on Twitter).
The Rams are prepared to finalize this deal soon, with the end of this week being a reasonable target date, Bonsignore tweets. He adds the drama no longer centers around the prospect of the Rams refusing to meet Donald’s demands. Instead, the suspense here will be this contract’s numbers and how far in front of other NFL defenders they will be.
As Khalil Mack‘s talks with the Raiders remain at a standstill, Donald steam’s picked up to the point he appears likely to be with the Rams when they face the Raiders in Week 1. He missed the first two games last season because of a holdout but still earned defensive player of the year acclaim. Nothing’s emerged indicating a Mack deal is imminent, but it’s possible the Donald saga concluding will help bridge the gap between the 2016 defensive player of the year and his team.
Latest On Rams, Aaron Donald
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but the Rams and Aaron Donald are still on the verge of completing an extension. Despite the lack of updates in recent days, the two sides are still on course for a deal that will make Donald the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Mike Florio of PFT. 
[RELATED: Texans Sign Ex-Rams CB Kayvon Webster]
There has been talk of a deal coming together soon, but head coach Sean McVay also recently denied that a deal is around the corner. Despite the misdirection, the deal still seems to be something of an inevitability. Even though the Rams gave their defense the Hollywood treatment this offseason, they recognize Donald’s value and will likely find a way to give him a history-making contract.
When all is said and done, it is expected that Donald’s deal will average about $22MM/year with up to $80MM guaranteed overall. Of course, the overall guarantee is different from the fully guaranteed amount at signing, and that will be a key metric in evaluating the deal.
Rams Notes: Donald, McVay, Havenstein
The Rams and Aaron Donald would like to get an extension done before the start of the season, but that’s there’s no deadline in negotiations, according to head coach Sean McVay.
“I don’t think so,” McVay said when asked whether there’s a deadline (via Mike Florio of PFT), “but I think for us ideally you’d like to be able to see a guy get in here a couple weeks before the season starts but in terms of a stern deadline we don’t have that. We’ve been in this situation before. Everybody knows how important Aaron is to us and how much we want to be able to get this thing done. In the meantime we’re appreciative of the guys that are here that are working but to say that there’s a stern deadline I wouldn’t say that but I think there is an ideal time where you’d like to get him in here to get him in football shape and feel confident that he’ll be ready to go and be healthy enough to participate just based on the things we’ve gotten exposed to before that first game.”
There has been talk of a deal coming together soon, but McVay has cautioned that nothing is imminent.
Here’s more out of L.A.:
- The new four-year, $32.5MM extension for right tackle Rob Havenstein includes roughly $16MM guaranteed, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. In addition to becoming the second-highest paid right tackle in the NFL, Havenstein also has a great deal of financial security thanks to the nearly 50% guarantee.
- On Monday, the Rams activated defensive tackle Dominique Easley off of the PUP list.
- Pass rusher Junior Galette visited the Rams on Monday, but he left without signing a deal and auditioned for the Seahawks on Tuesday morning.
West Notes: Rams, Donald, Raiders, Penn
The Chiefs gave up on Marcus Peters largely because of his conduct in the locker room. Peters was the source of many headaches in KC, but head coach Sean McVay says the Rams did their homework on the cornerback before trading for him this offseason.
“You talk to the people that have been around him, that you really value their opinion, you trust it,” McVay said (via Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com). “Got a lot of good things that came back in terms of a guy that loves football, does a lot of really good things for his community.”
The Rams added other bold personalities on defense, including cornerback Aqib Talib and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, but McVay isn’t concerned about how everyone will gel. McVay feels that 71-year-old defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has “more swag” than all of them combined and has the ability to keep them in line.
Here’s more from the West divisions:
- There’s increasing chatter about the Rams signing Aaron Donald to a new deal, but McVay did his best to pump the breaks on such talk. “I’ve seen a lot of reports out there, but that’s news to us,” McVay told reporters on Monday (via PFT). “So, no news on that front for us. Same thing as just the dialogue, but as far as anything that’s changed, it hasn’t changed.”
- Raiders tackle Donald Penn is practicing again after agreeing to a new contract, and he has a new position as well. Penn was spotted working at right tackle on Tuesday with rookie Kolton Miller at left tackle, Michael Gehlken of the Review-Journal tweets. Gehlken adds that this is not just an experiment – the Raiders believe that their best starting five has Miller on the left side and Penn on the right. Pro Football Focus ranked Penn as the league’s No. 23 overall tackle last year and the 12th best tackle in the league in 2016 as he worked from the left side.
- Last week, Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen underwent surgery to repair a tibial plateau fracture.
- Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie worked out for the Seahawks last week, but did not auditioned for the Raiders as originally planned.
West Notes: Rams, Donald, Raiders, Mack
Another day, another report of progress between the Rams and Aaron Donald. The latest positive word comes from Mike Florio of PFT, who hears from a league source that chatter of a deal happening soon is increasing.
Last week, both GM Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay indicated the club is moving in the right direction with the star defensive tackle. If the deal does come together, it’s likely that Donald will become the league’s highest-paid defensive player with a contract that tops Von Miller‘s six-year, $114.6MM contract.
Here’s more from the West divisions:
- Despite common speculation, the Raiders do not appear to be waiting on the Rams to sign Donald before they lock up Khalil Mack, Florio opines. That theory would make some sense if the Raiders and Mack were actively negotiating, but they haven’t talked since February, so it seems unlikely that they would wait on Donald before starting from square one late in the offseason. The notion of waiting on Donald seems especially unlikely, Florio adds, when considering that Donald waited until the last minute before reporting to the team last season.
- Seahawks rookie linebacker Shaquem Griffin has shown that having just one arm is not an obstacle for him on the field and he appears on course to make the final cut, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com writes.
- The Chiefs worked out running back Darius Victor on Monday, Terez Paylor of Yahoo Sports tweets. Victor appears to have lost out to fellow RB Ray Lawry, who was signed shortly after the audition.
NFC Notes: Donald, Giants, Cash, Lions
The Aaron Donald saga may finally be nearing a conclusion. Rams GM Les Snead indicated earlier this week that team and player were progressing towards a new deal, and head coach Sean McVay echoed those sentiments last night. Per Vincent Bonsignore of The Athletic (Twitter link), McVay said, “there’s increased dialogue. There’s more…we feel positive about the direction that these things are going. I think there’s a level of urgency that’s being displayed from us.” That probably sounds like music to the ears of Rams fans, who have legitimate championship dreams this season.
Now let’s take a quick look at a few more notes from the NFC:
- Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com tweets that Giants quarterback Kyle Lauletta is getting reps with the second team today, which is the first time Dunleavy can recall that happening. 2017 third-rounder Davis Webb was said to have a big lead on Lauletta for Big Blue’s backup job coming out of minicamp, but this could be a sign that Lauletta, a 2018 fourth-round pick, is closing the gap. Webb, of course, was selected by New York’s prior regime, while Lauletta has the benefit of being chosen by the team’s new crop of decision-makers.
- Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter) that Cardinals LB Jeremy Cash sustained a knee injury during last night’s preseason game that is believed to be season-ending. That is a tough blow for the Duke product, who has bounced around a few different teams since entering the league but who had a real chance of cracking Arizona’s 53-man roster this season. The Cardinals claimed him off waivers in March.
- Good news for 49ers fans, as right guard Joshua Garnett has returned to practice after missing two weeks to deal with his right knee issue, per Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter). Matt Barrows of The Athletic tweets that Garnett’s primary competitor for San Francisco’s right guard job, Jonathan Cooper, is also on hand, so perhaps the competition can finally begin in earnest. This comes just a week after a report that the 49ers were growing increasingly concerned about Garnett’s knee problems.
- Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press offers his take on the prospects of a few different Lions after the team’s first preseason game several nights ago. He says it is only a matter of time before rookie Kerryon Johnson becomes Detroit’s starting tailback, though Ameer Abdullah also looked good and was the first man up on kick and punt returns. Birkett adds that Jake Rudock‘s rough night, combined with Matt Cassel‘s ties to head coach Matt Patricia, have increased Cassel’s chances of opening the season as the club’s backup QB.
- The Bears signed running back/return specialist Knile Davis earlier today.
Extra Points: Rookie Scale, McCoy, Bills, Beckham, Giants, Donald, Rams
Roquan Smith still isn’t signed. The eighth overall pick in this year’s draft is the last remaining unsigned pick, and there’s no end in sight to the impasse between the linebacker and the Bears. Although issues like total guaranteed money and signing bonuses are predetermined in rookie contracts, things like offsets and when guarantees will void can still be haggled over.
To help better understand the process, Andrew Brandt of SI.com took a look at the rookie contract process, and spoke with a handful of agents. Brandt, a former Packers executive, writes that it’s a “system tilted heavily toward management” and that the players have little leverage now due to the 2011 CBA. Brandt writes that teams have become “emboldened” by their newfound power in negotiating rookie deals, and that “teams like the Bears are looking to invalidate future guarantees based on discipline for on-field conduct.”
The Bears want to be able to void guaranteed money from Smith’s contract if he were suspended for on-field conduct like an illegal hit, and Smith is fighting back. It will be fascinating to see how the situation plays out. Here’s more from around the league:
- The ex-girlfriend of LeSean McCoy issued a new statement yesterday, saying that she is still waiting for “justice to be served.” McCoy has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has not yet been punished by either the Bills or the NFL.
- Odell Beckham Jr. didn’t play in the Giants’ preseason opener, but his absence had nothing to do with his contract. Although the two sides are still negotiating a contract extension which should make OBJ the highest paid receiver in the game, coach Pat Shurmur said he wasn’t going to play his star in the first game anyway, according to Tom Rock of Newsday.
- Aaron Donald missed the August seventh deadline to report and will become a restricted free agent after the season, but the deadline was mostly irrelevant writes former NFL agent Joel Corry of CBS Sports. Since the Rams will certainly franchise tag Donald if the two sides can’t agree on an extension, it doesn’t really matter whether he’s a restricted or unrestricted free agent after this year, and there was no reason for Donald to report.
Rams, Aaron Donald Progressing On Deal?
Tuesday’s deadline for Aaron Donald to be classified as a 2019 UFA — in the event he is not extended before this season — came and went. The reigning defensive player of the year remains away from the Rams, but GM Les Snead doesn’t believe the sides are too far apart.
“We’re in the same ZIP Code, area code, ballpark,” Snead said, via Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times. “I think all of us weren’t anticipating Aaron showing up on the 7th. As we worked through this, we always figured this wasn’t the date, per se.”
Snead acknowledged no specific deadline exists here, other than one that would sufficiently get Donald ready for the season. Although, he was the NFL’s best defensive player last season and didn’t report until mid-September.
The Rams are not worried about Donald missing camp time, with The Athletic’s Vincent Bonsignore reporting (subscription required) the team is fine with its top player working out in his native Pittsburgh to stay away from a potential injury that would come with team drills in camp. But Donald may want significantly more money than what currently represents the top defender contract.
Von Miller raised the bar two summers ago by agreeing to a six-year, $114.6MM deal, with $70MM guaranteed. The belief around the league, per Bonsignore, is that Donald seeks “elite quarterback money” — potentially as high as $25MM per year and perhaps as much as $90MM in guarantees. He adds the Rams are willing to make Donald the league’s highest-paid defensive player, but the holdup seems to be determining if the all-world interior defender is worth good quarterback money or that of a top-tier signal-caller.
A $25MM-per-year contract would significantly top Miller’s deal in terms of cap percentage as well, since the Broncos linebacker’s $19.1MM-AAV accord represented just more than 12 percent of 2016’s $155.27MM cap. A $25MM pact would comprise more than 16 percent of this $177MM cap, but with the cap continuing to climb by approximately $10MM annually, the 26-year-old superstar asking for this perhaps isn’t entirely out of step.
Snead recently authorized a landscape-changing extension for Todd Gurley, and that deal changed the running back market more than a $25MM-AAV deal would for the defender spectrum. So, the Rams clearly aren’t against outside-the-box thinking. Their five-year, $80MM Brandin Cooks re-up before he’s played a down with the team illustrates this as well.
Latest On Aaron Donald, Rams
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.