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.