Analysis: Plenty of time for the Los Angeles Rams and Aaron Donald to reach an agreement

An oversized yellow dump truck served as a backdrop for photographers, dwarfing Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

It was November, and the Rams were celebrating the groundbreaking for their planned $2.6-billion stadium in Inglewood. Donald was there to stick a ceremonial shovel in the ground for a complex that was not scheduled to open until 2019.

A reporter asked Donald, on his way to earning Pro Bowl recognition for the third time in three NFL seasons, if he would be playing for the Rams under a new contract when the stadium opened.

“We going to see,” Donald said. “Right now, we’re worried about 2016 and 2017, and we’ve got some games to win now in the Coliseum.”

At that point, the Rams had won one game at the Coliseum. They did not win another.

But in a 4-12 season with few bright spots, Donald remained a beacon, one of the most disruptive defensive players in the NFL.

Now, with quarterback Jared Goff coming off a shaky rookie season and running back Todd Gurley trying to rebound from a sophomore slump, Donald is the team’s lone verifiable star.

And Donald, his representatives and the Rams know it.

General manager Les Snead went on record in March, saying that Donald was “sitting pretty right now,” that he deserved a raise and that an extension was coming.

“Whether he gets a raise or not,” Snead said, “he’s going to show up, do the things he does.”

Maybe he will this summer — if the Rams make Donald one of the NFL’s highest-paid defensive players.

Donald attended voluntary offseason workouts and an April minicamp but was absent from the first week of voluntary organized team activities last week. Snead acknowledged that it was because of the contract situation. The second week of workouts begins Tuesday.

Donald, the 13th pick in the 2014 draft, is due to earn a paltry-by-standards-of-performance $1.8 million in salary and $1.4 million in bonuses this season. The Rams in April exercised their fifth-year option, putting Donald, 26, in line to earn about $6.9 million in 2018. But that move was regarded as a formality to give the two sides time to negotiate an extension.

The Rams are not required to do so. They could put the franchise tag on Donald after the 2018, 2019 and, conceivably, 2020 seasons. But that is an expensive and probably impractical way for a franchise to treat its star player.

So, at this point there is no reason for Rams fans to fret about Donald’s absence. Training camp is about nine weeks away.

And while some veterans might feign an injury to avoid OTA workouts, this is no vacation scheme for Donald. He is a player who loathes missing workouts and loves preparing with teammates.

New defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is installing a 3-4 defensive scheme, but he was not expected to tinker much with a tackle that has produced 28 sacks, eight last season. Phillips has worked with several hall of fame players. He will let Donald do what Donald does best, whenever he returns.

Linebacker Von Miller of the Denver Broncos and linemen Ndamukong Suh of the Miami Dolphins and Fletcher Cox of the Philadelphia Eagles established new salary standards for defensive players in the last two years.

But Donald’s contract impasse, in terms of service time, most closely resembles that of Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt.

In 2014, on the eve of his fourth NFL season, Watt signed a six-year, $100-million extension, $51.8 million guaranteed.

The next year, after Suh’s fifth NFL season with the Detroit Lions, the Dolphins gave the free agent a six-year, $114.3-million deal with $60 million guaranteed.

Last June, before his fifth season, the Eagles gave Cox a six-year, $102.6-million extension, $63.3 million of it guaranteed.

A month later, Miller raised the bar. Coming off a Super Bowl MVP performance in his fifth pro season, he earned a six-year, $114.5-million contract with $70 million guaranteed.

Donald and Cox both are represented by agent Todd France of CAA. So Donald’s scenario might mirror that of Cox, who sat out OTAs last year but reported for a mandatory minicamp — avoiding a fine of more than $70,000 — before reaching his deal about 10 days later.

The Rams are scheduled to hold a mandatory minicamp June 13-15 before taking a six-week break.

Will Donald be there?

The Rams are becoming accustomed to changing timelines. The completion date for their new stadium has been pushed back to 2020.

That also could coincide with an organizational rebranding, including new uniforms.

Expect a much wealthier Donald to be wearing one.

gary.klein@latimes.com

Follow Gary Klein on Twitter @latimesklein