Column: Revamped Rams look like shakers and movers, but they need to get moving on Aaron Donald contract
The Rams staged a news conference at their Thousands Oaks headquarters Thursday to introduce Brandin Cooks. They will have another Friday to present Ndamukong Suh.
In an offseason that has included a number of optimism-inspiring announcements, however, one has been noticeably absent.
Their franchise player, Aaron Donald’s.
So here they go again, the Rams and Donald, back in talks over a possible contract extension that could make the 26-year-old lineman the league’s highest-paid defensive player.
Only this isn’t the same old story from last year, when dialogue between the two sides failed to produce a new deal.
The Rams are now Super Bowl contenders.
While holding out for a new contract, Donald skipped training camp last year. It was one thing to do that then, when head coach Sean McVay was an unknown commodity and the Rams weren’t burdened by expectations.
Another holdout would have an entirely new set of implications. For any team with Super Bowl aspirations, the march to postseason glory starts in training camp. That march can’t start if the best player on the team isn’t around.
So pay him.
The new deal will be expensive, with Suh’s former six-year, $114-million deal with the Miami Dolphins almost certainly the baseline. Donald could be looking to become more than the league’s highest-paid defensive player, something more in line with a quarterback.
General manager Les Snead spoke Thursday about wanting to keep together the team’s relatively youthful nucleus beyond the upcoming season. The salary cap will present an obstacle, especially if they have upwards of $20 million per season committed to Donald.
But Snead said the recent upgrades, including the acquisitions of Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters, shouldn’t impede the team from reaching a long-term agreement with Donald.
“None of it affects Aaron Donald,” Snead said. “As I’ve said plenty of times before, we’ve got that budgeted into the budget. We didn’t do all of this and forget about him, for sure.”
As part of his rookie contract, Donald will earn $6.9 million for the upcoming season, his fifth in the league.
After that, the Rams can place a franchise tag on him. That salary is set by averaging the top five by position for the previous league year or, if it’s higher, 120 percent of a player’s previous season salary. If tagged again, the player gets 120 percent of their previous salary; the third year 144 percent. . Only Snead would welcome the possibility of using the tag on another player.
Cooks, the receiver who was acquired from the New England Patriots last week, is also in the last year of his rookie contract. The Rams currently are using their franchise tag on safety Lamarus Joyner.
If Donald, Cooks and Joyner are to all return to the Rams next season, at least two of them will have to agree to new contracts. The Rams could retain the other by placing the franchise tag on him.
“In an ideal world, right, you would like to do that so you have your franchise available to keep those three players,” Snead said.
The Rams should start with Donald. He’s their cornerstone.
Now, it’s true that Donald was almost as dominant during the four-win 2016 season as he wasduring the 11-win 2017 season, but it would be a mistake to think Donald isn’t a difference-making player. Donald and the defense under coordinator Wade Phillips were the foundational structures that positioned the Rams to make a quick turnaround by upgrading their offense.
It’s also true that Donald went on to be named the league’s defensive player of the year after holding out in training camp and not playing in the season opener. His ability and focus to work out on his own should count as a reason why the Rams should want to sign Donald long term, not a reason why they shouldn’t.
That trust explained why Snead wasn’t especially alarmed when a video circulated on the internet showing Donald blocking the swinging arms of his trainer, who was holding knives. (The knives weren’t real, Donald later clarified on Twitter.)
“We trust Aaron,” Snead said. “He works hard.”
Still, Snead sounded relieved when he was told the knives were fake.
“Is it fake?” Snead said. “Good. If you can avoid knives, that’s good.”
As was the case last year when the Rams were speaking to Donald about a possible extension, the organization is refusing to handicap the chances of finalizing a deal.
“With him, the one thing I’ll say is, hey, we continue to have dialogue with his representation,” Snead said. “The goal is still the same, to make Aaron Donald a Ram for a long, long time.”
Words are nice. Action would be better.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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