Aaron Donald

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.

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.”

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.

Even with recent reports indicating that star defender Aaron Donald was looking to reset the market for non-quarterbacks, Rams COO and VP Kevin Demoff told NFL Network’s Steve Wyche that extension talks have been going well.

“I think when you build stadiums like this, it’s with players like Aaron Donald in mind,” Demoff said (via Marc Sessler of NFL.com). “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.”

Demoff refused to give a definitive timeline for any signing, joking that the deal would be completed before the team’s new stadium was completed. The executive did admit that the front office is hoping to have a deal done before training camp.

It sounds like both sides are trying to avoid the scenario from 2017. Donald ultimately held out for all of training camp and preseason, and his absence forced him to miss the first week of the season. This time around, both the Rams and Donald seem committed to agreeing to a new deal, although it’s going to be pricey for the organization. If the 2014 first-round pick is indeed hoping to reset the market, then he’d surely be eyeing an average annual salary that tops Von Miller‘s league-leading $19.1MM. GM Les Snead previously acknowledged that the Rams will have to sign Donald to an unprecedented contract.

Of course, if there’s any defender who’s worth a top contract, it’s Donald. The 27-year-old has earned four straight Pro Bowl nods and three straight first-team All-Pro honors. Despite ultimately missing 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.

Aaron Donald‘s seen several players follow his 2017 example and hold out in pursuit of an extension, but the Rams defensive tackle remains at an impasse with his team. Specific demands have not come out like they have in many past holdouts, but a number has emerged on the Donald front.

The fifth-year defender wants to reset the market for non-quarterbacks, Lindsay Thiry of ESPN.com notes, adding that the reigning defensive player of the year wants at least $20MM per year. This is understandable and may even be on the low end for what Donald could command.

That $20MM figure would top Von Miller‘s $19.1MM-AAV amount, but given the cap’s rise by $22MM since Miller signed his Broncos extension in 2016, Donald signing for $20MM annually wouldn’t comprise as much of Los Angeles’ cap as Miller’s deal does of Denver’s. Miller’s Broncos deal, at the time, represented just more than 12 percent of the 2016 cap. If Donald were seeking a 2018 equivalent to that agreement, it would cost the Rams more than $22MM per year.

While there are obviously more components to these talks, Donald accepting $20MM per year could actually be considered a team-friendly decision and represent slower growth for the top-tier defender market — much like when quarterback salaries proved slow to move in the years after Aaron Rodgers‘ 2013 extension.

Rams GM Les Snead‘s acknowledged the Rams are going to have to finalize an unprecedented contract for Donald, who’s unquestionably been the best interior defender in the league over the past two seasons. But what’s unknown is how much of a gap will separate Miller’s deal from Donald’s new one.

But given that Donald staged an unsuccessful holdout last year, he may have to be more pragmatic about his latest attempt. Should the 27-year-old superstar fail to report to the Rams by August 7, he will not be classified as a UFA in 2019. Instead, he’ll be a restricted free agent because of his 2017 holdout. While Donald’s talents would draw a monstrous offer sheet elsewhere in an unrealistic scenario where he’s allowed to hit the RFA market, thus forcing the Rams to place the franchise tag on him if this summer’s situation drags longer than it’s expected to, losing UFA status could well induce Donald to show up at Rams camp instead of skipping it entirely like he did last year.