Los Angeles Rams: Signs point to Aaron Donald deal being close
Though the saga between the Los Angeles Rams and Aaron Donald regarding his contract has been tiresome, signs point to a deal being close.
It’s been frustrating, certainly, to watch the Los Angeles Rams this offseason. That’s not to say it hasn’t been exciting to watch them trade for Marcus Peters, Brandin Cooks (and lock him up) and Aqib Talib, sign Ndamukong Suh and so on. But rather, it’s been frustrating to watch this team consistently tie up more of their salary cap while Aaron Donald needs to be paid.
Donald is one of the premier defensive players in the NFL. Some would argue that the defensive tackle is the best and most impactful defensive player that the league has to offer. Thus, it’s been difficult to watch the Rams pay Cooks and others while Donald remains holding out and in limbo. Then again, given the money likely needed to lock up Donald, it’s not hard to imagine why it’s been a tough deal to get done.
With the regular season rapidly approaching, however, we’ve started to see a bit more movement in this regard. There have been multiple instances of rumblings that say a deal is getting closer with the Rams and Donald. And now we actually have some concrete signs that might be the case.
According to a report from ESPN’s Field Yates, the Rams restructured the contracts of Robert Woods and Andrew Whitworth to free up $7 million on their 2018 salary cap. And as Yates noted, that’s a move that would aid in getting Donald’s deal wrapped up:
Source: the Rams have created $7M in 2018 cap space by restructuring the deals of OT Andrew Whitworth & WR Robert Woods. Another suggestion that an Aaron Donald deal may be very close.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) August 30, 2018
Unlike the Oakland Raiders and the Khalil Mack situation, the Rams can’t afford to let Donald go. That’s not to say Oakland can really afford to let Mack go either, but they aren’t in the same operation mode as LA right now. The moves that the Rams have made this offseason are clearly an effort to compete for a Super Bowl right now. However, their chances take a hit if Donald isn’t leading the defense up front.
Subsequently, it’s not all that surprising to see progress seemingly be made with his contract now that the regular season is just over a week away from beginning. The team needs him on the field and wants to keep him around long-term to stay in contention for the future. Thus, a deal needs to get done and the sense of urgency is heightened at this moment.
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It’s impossible to say when a deal actually gets done. But what is abundantly clear from cap-saving measures and the buzz we’re hearing is that it’s getting closer. Given the timing and what’s going on, expect Donald to be locked up with the Rams to a mega deal sooner rather than later.