Alden Gonzalez@Alden_Gonzalez
Aaron Donald’s new deal ranks 10th with an average salary of $22.5M. The only ones ahead of him are QBs. He’ll get about $3.5M more per year than Von Miller got two summers ago. The question with Donald wasn’t really if he would top Miller, but by how much.

This is the extension part of it; the six years after this one, which previously represented the final year of Donald’s rookie contract. But that makes it a better comp to Miller, who signed his deal after his rookie contract expired.

Rams DT Aaron Donald said holding out was so tough that he could barely watch any preseason games. The Rams said “Raiders prep week” was the target deadline to get him signed. My report @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/wevJKpO59q

— Steve Wyche (@wyche89) August 31, 2018

9 on 99 — Fast Facts about Aaron Donald

https://www.therams.com/news/9-on-99-fast-facts-about-aaron-donald

The Rams and Aaron Donald have agreed to terms on a six-year extension, keeping him under contract with Los Angeles through the 2024 season.
As Donald gets ready to report to the club and create one of the most formidable defensive fronts in the game with Ndamukong Suh and Michael Brockers, here are nine fast facts about No. 99 to get you reacquainted with the star defensive tackle.
1) Donald became the first Ram to ever win AP Defensive Player of the Year after his stellar 2017 season. Donald recorded 11.0 sacks, 16 tackles for loss, 27 quarterback hits, and five forced fumbles en route to his first DPOY award.

2) Donald is only the seventh defensive tackle in league history to win AP Defensive Player of the Year. He joins Hall of Famers Warren Sapp (1999), Cortez Kennedy (1992), “Mean” Joe Greene (1972, 1974), and Alan Page (1971).
3) With 39.0 sacks, Donald leads all interior lineman in the category since he entered the league in 2014.
4) Donald has been an impact player since his first game as a pro, recording a pair of tackles for loss in his NFL debut against the Vikings back in Week 1 of 2014. Donald won AP Defensive Rookie of the Year after setting a new Rams rookie record with 9.0 sacks in 2014. He also had a pair of forced fumbles that season.
5) A native of Pittsburgh, Donald dominated the competition with 63 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and 11.0 sacks as a senior at Penn Hills High School. But likely due to his size, Rivals rated him as only a three-star prospect. Oops.
Aaron Donald NFL Honors (Ben Liebenberg via AP)
6) Donald ended up at Pitt where he, unsurprisingly, continued to dominate as a collegiate player. After his senior year, Donald earned the Bronco Nagurski Trophy (nation’s most outstanding defensive player), Chuck Bednarik Trophy (defensive player of the year), Outland Trophy (nation’s best offense or defensive interior lineman), and Rotary Lombardi Award (nation’s most outstanding defensive lineman or linebacker). He ranks fourth in NCAA FBS history with 66.0 tackles for loss.
7) Donald has sacked a total of 23 quarterbacks as a pro, inducing future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning in the defensive tackle’s rookie year. The first professional sack Donald ever recorded was on Josh McCown in the Rams’ 19-17 victory over the Buccaneers in Week 2 of the 2014 season. Donald’s sack came on 3rd-and-4 in the second quarter and forced Tampa to punt.
8) That said, Donald’s gotten after no quarterback more than Seattle’s Russell Wilson. In eight games, Donald has sacked Wilson a total of 7.0 times. He took Wilson down three times during Los Angeles’ 42-7 victory in Seattle last December.
9) It’s hard to believe, but Donald claims that at one point, he was a “chunky kid.” In episode 3 of Behind the Grind, Donald gave an inside look at the weight room his father set up in the basement of his home in order to train his son. Donald says his father often told him, “Hard work pays off.” As the defensive tackle becomes the highest paid defensive player in the game, indeed it has.

Rams Make Initial Roster Cuts

Waived, No Recall

Brown, Fred (WR – Mississippi State)

Ficken, Sam (K – Penn State)

Holley, Nate (DB – Kent State)

Holley, Nick (RB – Kent State)

McElroy, Codey (WR – Southeastern Oklahoma)

Natson, JoJo (WR – Akron)

Williams, Darrell (T – South Florida)

Terminated, Vested Veteran, all contracts

Lucas, Cornelius (T – Kansas State)

Waived, Injured

Laguda, Afolabi (DB – Colorado)

Thompson, Kendal (WR – Utah)

Reserve List Additions

Reserve/Injured;

Davis, Ryan (DE – Bethune-Cookman)

Fox, Morgan (DE – Colorado State-Pueblo)

Player of the Game: Rams LB Micah Kiser racks up 12 tackles vs. Saints

Cameron DaSilva

Player of the Game: Rams LB Micah Kiser racks up 12 tackles vs. Saints

There weren’t many standout performances from the Los Angeles Rams’ 28-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night, but one rookie in particular caught our attention. No, it wasn’t Luis Perez, who made his NFL debut, but a guy on the other side of the ball.

Rookie linebacker Micah Kiser lived up to the hype against New Orleans, continuing his ways of wrapping up ball carriers and racking up the tackles. He finished with a game-high 12 tackles, four of which were solo stops. He played the majority of the game and didn’t look the slightest bit out of his element.

Although he wasn’t tested much in coverage, his run-stopping ability was on full display. Whether it was a tackle outside the hashmarks or filling the lane up the middle, Kiser could do it all.

That sort of tackling ability is much-needed on a Rams defense that ranked 28th against the run last season. And even though Kiser won’t start in Week 1, he’ll definitely carve out a role on defense in sub-packages and heavy formations with three inside linebackers, if Wade Phillips goes that route on occasion.

Kiser has certainly earned a spot on the roster, and not just because he was the team’s fifth-round pick. He’s been a force in the middle of the defense, running alongside Tegray Scales and Travin Howard, as well as Bryce Hager.

Again, he hasn’t been tested much in coverage – his biggest weakness at Virginia – but Kiser looks stout against the run, which the Rams knew when they drafted him. This was his best performance of the preseason

Here comes the annual flood of roster moves, with every team moving from 90 to 53 by Saturday afternoon https://t.co/Hjz6ViOqxZ

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) August 31, 2018

Colin Kaepernick’s potential trial against the NFL took another big step forward after an arbitrator ruled in the ex-QB’s favor. What are the potential repercussions that the league can face? https://t.co/f1Nu9OQA0k

— The MMQB (@theMMQB) August 31, 2018

Joe Curley@vcsjoecurley
Luis Perez was 8 of 15 for 43 yards and an interception. Brandon Allen was 7 of 13 for 57 yards and an interception. Larry Rose ran 12 times for 43 yards. Rams had just 151 total yards and 10 first downs tonight.

Sean McVay on Luis Perez’s night: “Luis got in there. To be in the position to even be competing in games like this is a great story, it’s a great credit to him. Really impressive person. Unbelievable guy. I’ve enjoyed being around him.”

“We feel good about where we’re at as a team in terms of the health that we’ve talked about, doing everything that we can to take steps to be at our best on that Sept. 10 date against a great Oakland Raiders team.” – Sean McVay

==

Vincent Bonsignore@VinnyBonsignore
#Rams HC Sean McVay on Kiser: “You’ve seen him show up time in and time out throughout this preseason. Very smart cerebral player, understands the game. He’s just a good solid football player. That’s where you throw the measurables out and you just trust what you see on tape.”

#Rams rookie LB Micah Kiser said he’ll sleep well tonight knowing he did everything he could and played as hard as he could this preseason to show #Rams he belongs. “This is a really really good team and I want to be part of it. I want to be here. I want to be a L.A. Ram.”

==

Andrew Siciliano@AndrewSiciliano
Goodnight, @NFL preseason. Nice knowing you. See you Monday @nflnetwork when it counts for real.

Five Takeaways: Rams Finish 2018 Preseason 2-2

Myles Simmons

https://www.therams.com/news/five-takeaways-rams-finish-2018-preseason-2-2

NEW ORLEANS — The Rams finished their preseason with a long trip to meet a former division rival, and fell to the Saints 28-0.
As it is for all preseason games, the final score doesn’t tell the whole story. With that in mind, here are five takeaways as the preseason comes to an end.
1) Holley runs it
Running back Nick Holley got the offense going early with a few nice runs on Los Angeles’ first offensive possession.
Holley rushed five times for 28 yards on that first drive, including a 16-yard run down the left side. On 3rd-and-1 from the New Orleans 34, Holley bounced a handoff outside the end of the line, darting down the field for the big gain.
Los Angeles, however, was unable to capitalize on the scoring opportunity, as quarterback Brandon Allen threw an interception to New Orleans linebacker Alex Anzalone.

2) Key stops
New Orleans seemed to be playing with a bit of a “YOLO” mentality in the first half, and it worked out in the Rams favor.
First the Saints elected to go for two after scoring their first touchdown, but with good coverage on the right side quarterback Taysom Hill’s pass was high and incomplete.
The New Orleans decided to go for it on 4th-and-1 at the Los Angeles 20 with a fullback dive. The Rams were there to stuff the play for no gain, however, causing a turnover on downs. Linebackers Trevon Young and Micah Kiser were credited for making the play.
On 4th-and-5 from the Los Angeles 37 midway through the second quarter, New Orleans elected to go for it again. But this time, the Saints got it with Hill scrambling up the middle for an 18-yard gain.
The Saints would score a touchdown to cap that drive, but the Rams once again stopped a two-point conversion attempt by tackling ball carrier Jonathan Williams in the backfield for a loss.
3) Parker gets a pick
Among the many players trying to make a final positive impression in Thursday’s contest was defensive back Steven Parker.
The undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma did just that with a third quarter interception.
Midway through the period on 3rd-and-3, Parker picked off quarterback J.T. Barrett on a deep pass down the middle of the field. Parker made an athletic play, first tipping the ball away from the intended receiver and then reeling the ball in before he hit the ground.
Los Angeles could not capitalize on the takeaway, however, as wide receiver Fred Brown fumbled after a third-down reception on the ensuing possession.
4) Perez gets in
Quarterback Luis Perez entered the contest midway through the third quarter for his first action of the preseason.
His outing was up and down, with an early completion to wide receiver JoJo Natson that went for a first down. And while a holding penalty moved L.A. back a few plays later, Perez had consecutive completions to Brown and tight end John Mundt.
In the fourth quarter, however, Perez threw an interception. Facing pressure, the Texas A&M—Commerce product fired a pass over the middle but Saints linebacker Nate Stupar was right in the path of the ball and caught it. Fortunately for the Rams, Stupar fumbled when wide receiver Steven Mitchell punched the ball out and L.A. recovered it. But the throw was not the best from Perez.
Perez finished the game 8-of-15 passing for 43 yards with the pick.
5) Now, the wins and losses count
Preseason is good for acclimating and evaluating, but it seems like everyone is ready for the regular season to start.
Los Angeles finished the preseason 2-2, winning both games at the Coliseum but losing the two contests on the road.
There is plenty of business to attend to, not only with the pending roster reduction but also with the club nearing an agreement on a contract extension with defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
But all along the way, head coach Sean McVay has stressed the importance of getting ready for that Sept. 10 date when the Rams will square off against the Raiders. And now the next time we see Los Angeles’ players in uniform, they’ll be taking the field in Oakland going for their first ‘W’ of 2018.
For real.

Hunch: Aaron Donald deal is unofficially done.
Guess: Aaron Donald deal will be officially done Monday.
Prediction: Rams will hold press conference Tuesday. https://t.co/FpwYpfxYCf

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) August 30, 2018