Extension talks with Rams DT Aaron Donald 'definitely coming'

Extension talks with Rams DT Aaron Donald ‘definitely coming’

Alden Gonzalez

http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/33154/extension-talks-with-rams-dt-aaron-donald-definitely-coming

NDIANAPOLIS — The Los Angeles Rams will have Aaron Donald under control for two more seasons at a very reasonable rate, but it may be time to start thinking about extending that even further.

The Rams aren’t going to let the game’s best interior pass rusher go anywhere.

“It’s definitely coming,” Rams general manager Les Snead, speaking from the scouting combine on Thursday, said about beginning extension talks with Donald and his representatives. “The guy deserves a raise, there’s no doubt. Whether he gets a raise or not, he’s going to show up, do the things he does. But that’s coming.”

Donald is set to make a base salary of $1,802,250 in 2017. His fifth-year option for 2018 would pay him the average of the third- to 25th-highest-paid players at his position, since Donald was a first-round pick who wasn’t taken within the top 10. That figure is expected to be slightly more than $6 million. The Rams must exercise Donald’s fifth-year option by May 3.

It’s the definition of a formality, but negotiating Donald’s extension isn’t necessarily the priority just yet.

The Rams have immediate needs they must address — at receiver, along their offensive line and throughout their defense. And they’re currently on track to have as many as nine unrestricted free agents next offseason, most notably linebacker Alec Ogletree and left tackle Greg Robinson, who seems unlikely to have his fifth-year option exercised for 2018. They can always keep Donald through the franchise tag, which they utilized each of the last two offseasons for cornerback Trumaine Johnson.

Seemingly the only way the Rams can sign Donald long term would be by making him the game’s highest-paid defensive player, which would require projecting ahead to what that would even look like by the time he is a free agent.

The game’s highest-paid defensive player is Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller, who signed a six-year, $114.5 million contract, with $70 million guaranteed, last July. After Miller are a couple of defensive tackles: Ndamukong Suh of the Dolphins (six-year, $114.375 million with nearly $60 million guaranteed) and Fletcher Cox of the Eagles (six-year, $102.6 million contract with nearly $63.3 million guaranteed).

Donald, a three-time Pro Bowler who graded out as the NFL’s second-best player in 2017 by Pro Football Focus, is significantly better than both.

The Rams have done a nice job of locking up other key members of their front seven in recent years. They signed defensive end Robert Quinn to a six-year extension early in his fourth season. Linebacker Mark Barron then received a five-year extension before his fifth season, and defensive tackle Michael Brockers got a three-year extension early in his fifth season. But locking Donald up will prove to be a lot tougher.

Said Snead: “We know that’s on the horizon.”