The official Aaron Donald holdout thread - #Questfor100

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den-the-coach

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Rams won't place deadline on Aaron Donald to end holdout and report

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Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald, smiling during a summer practice in June 13, is holding out and believed to be seeking a new deal that would make him the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Gary Klein

As each day passes, Sean McVay’s anxiety grows.

This is the final week of the NFL preseason and the Rams’ first-year coach is still without star defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who remains a holdout because of a contract dispute.

“Every day, there’s a heightened reason in wanting him to be around,” McVay said Sunday.

McVay has said for weeks that Donald’s absence provided opportunities for other players to step up. And several, including Ethan Westbrooks and Louis Trinca-Pasat, have taken advantage of Donald’s absence.

But the Sept. 10 season opener against the Indianapolis Colts is looming.

McVay declined to specify if there is a date that Donald must report to be able to play in the opener.

“What you’ve got to have is, as each day gets closer and if we haven’t come to a resolution, having a plan for that day,” McVay said. “To rule out one of our best players and put a specific date on that I don’t think would be fair to our team or for him, so I don’t want to do that right now.

“But I think the biggest thing that I would stress is we would love to have him around and we’re working hard to try to come to a solution with respect to the process.”

Pro Bowl selection, is believed to be seeking a new deal that would make him the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell also has held out during training camp and the preseason, refusing to sign the $12.1 million franchise tender that was placed upon him.

Bell tweeted and later confirmed to the Columbus Dispatch that he would report Friday, the day after the Steelers’ final preseason game.

There has not been similar word from Donald, who has been accruing daily fines of $40,000 since he failed to report with veterans on July 28. That total now stands at about $1.2 million. Those fines, however, are expected to be creatively addressed by the Rams if and when Donald signs a new contract.

Players are paid only during the regular season, so if Donald does not report before the opener, he also would lose at least one game check.

“That dialogue is ongoing,” McVay said when asked if there was any indication that Donald will report at the conclusion of the preseason. “I know we had some meetings and discussions with their representation and that’s something that we’re working through to try and get figured out as soon as possible.

“If we do, we’ll be excited about that and if not, we’ve got to be ready to adjust and move forward.”

If Donald returns this week or next, he would not be the only Rams starter expected to play in the opener without preseason snaps.

Linebackers Robert Quinn and Mark Barron and cornerback Kayvon Webster have not played because of injuries or what McVay has described as maintenance programs. They will not play in Thursday night’s preseason finale at Green Bay.

Etc.
Starters, including quarterback Jared Goff, will not play against the Packers, McVay said. ... Receiver Tavon Austin, who has been sidelined because of a hamstring injury, will not play against the Packers but is expected to be ready for the opener, McVay said.


[www.latimes.com]
 

den-the-coach

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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
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Todd France = Carl Poston.
 

Elmgrovegnome

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Really? What is the Rams offer that he is "selfishly" not accepting?

No idea if they offered anything. Maybe what his agent is asking simply cannot fit into the cap. Maybe the Rams are waiting for Tavon to get healthy so they can trade him and free up money to give Donald a new contract.

I am not sure if Aaron is being selfish but he is not fitting into the "We, not me" mantra that McVey is pushing.
 

OldSchool

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Meanwhile those 40k a day fines are building up and game checks being withheld.
 

RedRam

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If Donald doesn't report before the season starts, how does that impact the roster spot? How do they designate him and does it affect the cap for the season?
 

dieterbrock

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No idea if they offered anything. Maybe what his agent is asking simply cannot fit into the cap. Maybe the Rams are waiting for Tavon to get healthy so they can trade him and free up money to give Donald a new contract.

I am not sure if Aaron is being selfish but he is not fitting into the "We, not me" mantra that McVey is pushing.
His fines almost exceed his contract. So he should write a 1.2 mill check, show up for work and that is "we not me"?
I dont know if he's being selfish or not because I dont know either side of the story. What I do know is that he wanted a new contract and the Rams agreed he deserved one. If he wants more than what he's worth, sure its selfish, conversely if they are offering less than what he's worth, he is not being selfish by not accepting.
 

dieterbrock

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The Rams offer is, and should be, the contract that Aaron isnt, but should be, playing under.
Says who? Not the Rams, and not the current NFL who believe in re-signing players before their contract expires
 

PhillyRam

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If Donald truly wants to play and this is all about his agent holding out for an unrealistic deal, huge money plus an early opt out, then Donald should give his agent until week's end to come to agreement with the best deal he can make and if not, tell him he will go get another agent.
 

Adi

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I'm not sure what he and his agent are asking for. But if they sign for top dollar this team will look very different next season . Aaron Donald might get his money but that could mean losing ogletree and that's a huge loss for this team. The team is standing their ground so long because there is alot of players expiring contracts after this season . Not to mention if they folded right away it would show future players that they can good their rookie contracts .
 

…..

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Says who? Not the Rams, and not the current NFL who believe in re-signing players before their contract expires

Who says you get to decide that Aaron is in the right here? Because other people did it so its right? Other people jumped off a bridge, you gonna do that too? I'm not buying the shit. Your word is your bond. Fuck all the other crap that you or anyone else can drag into it.

You want a salary adjustment, you handle it professionally, but you also Man the fuck up and take your ass to work and continue your job as agreed while working to adjust your agreement.
 

Jacobarch

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Just another selfish greedy player. Nothing new here.

Rams hold the cards, Aaron holds his dick, and hopefully his agent will be holding walking papers.
 

Prime Time

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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ication-that-aaron-donald-will-be-showing-up/

Rams have gotten no indication that Aaron Donald will be showing up
Posted by Mike Florio on August 28, 2017

With the third week of the preseason over and the first week of the regular season less than two weeks away, Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald remains absent. So have the Rams gotten any indication he’ll be showing up before Week One?

“We haven’t received any word like that,” coach Sean McVay told reporters on Sunday. “Right now, that dialogue is ongoing. I know we had some meetings and discussions with their representation and that’s something that we’re working through to try and get figured out as soon as possible.

If we do, we’ll be excited about that and if not, we’ve got to be ready to adjust and move forward. That’s the approach that we’ve taken, but certainly we’re very optimistic and hopeful that we’ll get that done. But we don’t have any specific updates, it’s kind of the same as where it’s been the last couple weeks.”


Where it’s been the last couple of weeks is pretty much nowhere. In a recent visit to PFT Live, Rams G.M. Les Snead indicated that there’s communication between the two sides. But Snead didn’t create the impression that significant progress is being made. At some, however, there arguably needs to be a greater sense of urgency regarding Donald’s absence.

“I think every day there’s a heightened reason in wanting him to be around,” McVay said Sunday. “Whether that was at the very start of training camp – any time that you have the ability to have one of your best players who’s not present because of something outside of things that we can control, the injuries and different things like that, you want Aaron here. As far as putting a timetable on it, kind of like we’ve discussed, it’s hard to really say.

All that we can do right now, until that issue is resolved is move forward and kind of start to have some contingency plans in place. It’s kind of the same approach for us, where we’re focused on helping the guys that are here and are working and trust that Aaron is working in the meantime. If we’re able to get that worked out, then he’ll be ready to go.

If we do that then there will be some plans that we have to have in place. Having an appreciation for the training camp, the offseason, all that stuff that that entails to try to be smart with him and that will be a good problem for us to have to work out.”


Until Donald shows up, the Rams will need other guys to get it done.

t’s . . . a unique opportunity for some guys to step up,” McVay said. “I think we’ve seen some really good things from Tanzel Smart that you see him play at the three technique, you see him play at the nose. Michael Brockers has taken on that leadership role, which he’s had for the last couple years and I think it gives you a chance to continue to evaluate guys that have been on this roster like an Ethan Westbrooks and a [Louis] Trinca-Pasat.”

All due respect, none of those guys is Aaron Donald. The Rams need him, Donald knows it, and Donald is taking a stand now in order to secure his financial future before he puts his health at any further risk.

Whatever the gap between the two positions, Donald apparently won’t be showing up until it closes. And it doesn’t appear to be closing any time soon.
 

fearsomefour

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No idea if they offered anything. Maybe what his agent is asking simply cannot fit into the cap. Maybe the Rams are waiting for Tavon to get healthy so they can trade him and free up money to give Donald a new contract.

I am not sure if Aaron is being selfish but he is not fitting into the "We, not me" mantra that McVey is pushing.
That's because it does not exist.
The concept, sure, to a certain point. It's not amateur sports, it's not city league. It's a profession. A profession with a very short earning window.
"We not me" can be applied to roles if players, doing team work etc. in terms of pay, it doesn't exist, never has and really shouldn't.
 

LACHAMP46

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@flv

this looks like a sportsbook bet.....I say right before game 4 or 5..maybe game 8. That'll give him a league year..so he's still a ufa after 2018...or is he signed thru 2019?
 

Akrasian

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Deadline will be sometime before October 31. They will trade him if he hasn't reported well before then. Get picks from some team that will figure AD will be in shape before the playoffs, and will help them win then. Especially if a contender needs to bolster its pass rushing.
 

Loyal

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He is my favorite player..or has been anyway until Andrew Whitworth showed up...I want a deal in the worst way as far as our prospects go this year, but on the other hand, fukk him. Dog is right, your word is your bond...The Rams may believe he deserves more money, but they are not contractually obligated to pay him one cent more than what the contract says they have to. They need to release the numbers of what they offered him so that if it is legit, outside pressure can get unbearable on him. In any case, it's bad business to give into blackmail, because that's what this is.

The Rams should be prepared to let him lose a full year of salary...they can't give in to this.