Aaron Donald’s contract situation

[XXXIVwin]

So refresh my memory here.... What date is his "no return" where he has to be reported or he gives the Rams a year of control?

AD has to report by August 7 or else he loses an accrued season.

All signs point to AD signing his big extension prior to then. After Aug. 7, things would go nuclear, with damage to both sides.

 

[Merlin]

https://www.ocregister.com/2018/07/...-donald-likely-to-be-missing-as-team-reports/

By Rich Hammond | rhammond@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: July 22, 2018 at 2:03 pm | UPDATED: July 23, 2018 at 8:38 am

Perhaps, in Irvine, locals will begin telling the story of the legendary creature who once prowled their fields but then disappeared. Around those parts, Aaron Donald is more of a myth. The Rams start training camp this week at UC Irvine, which means it is time for nobody’s favorite game: Will Donald show up? He’s more than a year into his quest for a new contract, and last year he skipped all of camp and also missed the first game of the season. Nothing has been resolved.

Donald remains under contract for the 2018 season but wants a new deal. Even if Donald chooses to miss the start of camp, NFL free-agency rules make it unlikely that the protest will last for long. Still, it’s a distraction for the rest of the team, and the Rams surely would like to build on the positivity of last season, when they shockingly went 11-5, won the NFC West and gobbled up the awards for top coach (Sean McVay), top offensive player (Todd Gurley) and top defensive player (Donald).

The Rams are favored to repeat as division champions and also are considered Super Bowl contenders, with a still-strong offense and an improved defense, but they have work to do in camp before their Sept. 10 opener at Oakland. That starts Monday, when quarterbacks and rookies report. The first full-team practice will be held Thursday afternoon.

The Rams are back in Irvine for a third consecutive year, and will practice there 13 times before they return to Thousand Oaks after an Aug. 18 preseason game. The Rams will be away for a week, though. They will hold joint practices with the Baltimore Ravens on Aug. 6 and 7 in suburban Maryland.

At 6-foot-1, 280 pounds, Aaron Donald typically isn’t tough to locate, but the Rams will have their eyes open. Donald missed all of the team’s offseason program, which included a mandatory minicamp, and there’s no indication that he plans to report with the rest of his veteran teammates on Tuesday.

If Donald doesn’t report by Aug. 7, he will lose his chance at unrestricted free agency next March. That seems risky and unlikely, so the most likely scenario involves a short Donald absence and probably zero snaps in any of the four preseason games.

The panic level is low, though. Donald is known for his fierce offseason workouts, and even though he missed last year’s camp, he remained one of the NFL’s most dominant players.

POSITION BATTLES TO WATCH

Right guard: Things hummed along nicely for the Rams until early July, when the league announced that Jamon Brown had been suspended for the first two games of the regular season for a violation of the substance-abuse policy. The Rams don’t have an obvious backup ready to go, so it’s likely that Austin Blythe, Aaron Neary and Joseph Noteboom each will get a look as Brown’s short-term replacement.

Running back: A year ago, the Rams signed Lance Dunbar with the hope that he would be their third-down, change-of-pace back. It didn’t work, because knee issues limited Dunbar to 12 touches for the season. The Rams are fairly set here, with Gurley and backup Malcolm Brown, but there could be an interesting competition between Justin Davis and rookie John Kelly for the third spot.

Cornerback: There’s plentiful talent at this spot, with Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib and Nickell Robey-Coleman likely to earn the starting jobs. There’s also some intrigue. Sam Shields is a former standout who has dealt with concussion issues, while younger players such as Troy Hill, Kevin Peterson and Dominique Hatfield have played well in limited roles. There are only so many spots available.

ROOKIES TO WATCH

1. Obo Okoronkwo, linebacker: A fifth-round draft pick out of Oklahoma, Okoronkwo likely would have received first-team reps during the Rams’ offseason program, but he underwent foot surgery. Given that outside linebacker is the Rams’ thinnest position, Okoronkwo will have a chance to earn significant playing time during camp.

2. Joseph Noteboom, offensive lineman: Drafted in the third round as a possible backup for left tackle Andrew Whitworth, Noteboom might also get some time at guard because of Brown’s early-season suspension. At worst, Noteboom should be in the rotation for snaps as a backup in 2018.

3. Micah Kiser, linebacker: This fifth-round draft pick didn’t get significant attention, but he’s an intelligent player – he won the NCAA’s “academic Heisman” last season at Virginia – and could thrive as a signal-calling middle linebacker. As always, though, his on-field development will be most important.

 

[Merlin]

The more things change...

In other news, really lookin forward to seeing how Okorongkwo measures up. Hopefully he will show well enough to be in that blindside competition.

 

[Farr Be It]

The more things change...

In other news, really lookin forward to seeing how Okorongkwo measures up. Hopefully he will show well enough to be in that blindside competition.

I agree. I'm thinking of taking a little pressure off of myself to get his name spelled correctly........yes....nothing disrespectful, you understand. Perhaps just a little "creative license" with his last name. such as:

"I really am excited to see our new edge rookie Okobaddasso!"

"Did you see the way Okocantstopme came around the edge to crush Jimmy Gonorrhea ?"

 

[FrantikRam]

I agree. I'm thinking of taking a little pressure off of myself to get his name spelled correctly........yes....nothing disrespectful, you understand. Perhaps just a little "creative license" with his last name. such as:

"I really am excited to see our new edge rookie Okobaddasso!"

"Did you see the way Okocantstopme came around the edge to crush Jimmy Gonorrhea ?"

I'm just going to go with "OO", but pronounce it more like "uh oh", as in "uh oh" he's in the backfield again

 

[Kevin]

If I remember correctly,the sticking point last year at this time was the opt out clause.AD wanted to be able to opt out after 3years, and the Rams said no

I think that was pure speculation by a blogger or someone else not connected to the whole situation. The Rams and Donald's agent have leaked nothing specific about the contract demands.

 

[Memento]

I'm just going to go with "OO", but pronounce it more like "uh oh", as in "uh oh" he's in the backfield again

How about OO45? It's his number mixed in with a little bit of Bond.

 

[ReekofRams]

I'm just going to go with "OO", but pronounce it more like "uh oh", as in "uh oh" he's in the backfield again

OhKongarutroh

 

[Mackeyser]

I think that was pure speculation by a blogger or someone else not connected to the whole situation. The Rams and Donald's agent have leaked nothing specific about the contract demands.

Actually, that was me.

I had speculated and labeled it as speculation that because what little was released should have been more than acceptable on a pure number standpoint and the word was that there were major sticking points that he was looking for something that doesn't exist in the NFL.

That would be an opt-out clause.

It was speculation, but it fit. McVay was an unknown and AD is about as competitive as a person can be and still be sociable. Dude can't even play a casual game of ping pong (I relate, I'm very much like that). After the Fisher years, he wasn't about to sign some long term deal and be on a bunch of 4-12 teams until he retired. I'm sure he saw what happened to guys like Steven Jackson.

So, the opt-out fit. What I found rather odd was that in DMing, emailing and tweeting about it to guys in the media, there was absolute radio silence about it which let me know that I was probably right. I've contacted guys in the media in the past and if I was way off base, they generally didn't take issue with squashing a take, sometimes taking a little too much joy in being rude about it. The fact that not a single outreach netted even a perfunctory dismissal was more than a little odd to me and was one factor that led me to believe that he was asking for an opt-out.

To this day, no one will comment on this, I think in part because the NFL wants to avoid something like that like the PLAGUE. They know fully guaranteed contracts are coming (I dunno if Cousins was the first fully guaranteed or just close), but the last thing they want are star players playing GM like LeBron does.

Anyway, just wanted to clear that up.

What surprised me was that it kinda germinated around the Rams-forumosphere and I saw independent mentions of it on NBCs and ESPNs comment sections, but again, not a single mention of it from the media.

Considering how massive a story it would be if a player got an opt-out clause, that surprised me. Well, not exactly surprised, but sort of affirmed that this was bigger than just the Rams on this point.

 

[So Ram]

August 7th is the date ? Didn’t The Rams pay Donald all his money back for missing camp ?

 

[XXXIVwin]

Perhaps just a little "creative license" with his last name

OKShaggyRuh-Roh

 

[Kevin]

Actually, that was me.

I had speculated and labeled it as speculation that because what little was released should have been more than acceptable on a pure number standpoint and the word was that there were major sticking points that he was looking for something that doesn't exist in the NFL.

That would be an opt-out clause.

It was speculation, but it fit. McVay was an unknown and AD is about as competitive as a person can be and still be sociable. Dude can't even play a casual game of ping pong (I relate, I'm very much like that). After the Fisher years, he wasn't about to sign some long term deal and be on a bunch of 4-12 teams until he retired. I'm sure he saw what happened to guys like Steven Jackson.

So, the opt-out fit. What I found rather odd was that in DMing, emailing and tweeting about it to guys in the media, there was absolute radio silence about it which let me know that I was probably right. I've contacted guys in the media in the past and if I was way off base, they generally didn't take issue with squashing a take, sometimes taking a little too much joy in being rude about it. The fact that not a single outreach netted even a perfunctory dismissal was more than a little odd to me and was one factor that led me to believe that he was asking for an opt-out.

To this day, no one will comment on this, I think in part because the NFL wants to avoid something like that like the PLAGUE. They know fully guaranteed contracts are coming (I dunno if Cousins was the first fully guaranteed or just close), but the last thing they want are star players playing GM like LeBron does.

Anyway, just wanted to clear that up.

What surprised me was that it kinda germinated around the Rams-forumosphere and I saw independent mentions of it on NBCs and ESPNs comment sections, but again, not a single mention of it from the media.

Considering how massive a story it would be if a player got an opt-out clause, that surprised me. Well, not exactly surprised, but sort of affirmed that this was bigger than just the Rams on this point.

Thanks Mac. Couldn't remember where I read about a possible opt-out clause. You could be right, we don't know much because both sides have been tight lipped about the details. Gurley recently made a public statement advocating for fully guaranteed contracts. Could be that he was speaking for Donald and what he really wants is a long term, fully guaranteed contract. I hope we find out soon.

 

[ReekofRams]

OhKongarutroh

Oh-Kong-rut-roh. I realized not all of you understood my pathetic play on Okoronkwo name, so now I have even more pathetically broke it down to make it easier for all of you. Yes, pathetic!

 

[bubbaramfan]

oko-octane :fuelfire:

 

[96GS#007]

I think AD needs to get his agents under control. He’s going to lose a year and then get tagged for a couple. All of which means he loses out on 10s of millions

 

[So Ram]

I think AD needs to get his agents under control. He’s going to lose a year and then get tagged for a couple. All of which means he loses out on 10s of millions

True fact. A deal I’m sure is maxed out,especially after the signing of Gurley!!

 

[Merlin]

So now that we have actually witnessed the Rams locking up high end players like Cooks and Gurley, it changes the equation a bit in terms of how I view AD's situation. While we obviously don't know for sure who is offering/asking for what... At this point I am much more liable to believe that AD's representation might be asking for too much. That the reports of the Rams making legit offers are probably accurate.

In other words I feel a lot better about the Rams' front office. And as I mentioned before, this might be the holdout period where the team holds Aaron's feet to the fire and makes him pay the fines for not showing up. I know a lot of you will disagree with me on this, but I think it's important they do that if he doesn't show on time.

 

[12intheBox]

So now that we have actually witnessed the Rams locking up high end players like Cooks and Gurley, it changes the equation a bit in terms of how I view AD's situation. While we obviously don't know for sure who is offering/asking for what... At this point I am much more liable to believe that AD's representation might be asking for too much. That the reports of the Rams making legit offers are probably accurate.

In other words I feel a lot better about the Rams' front office. And as I mentioned before, this might be the holdout period where the team holds Aaron's feet to the fire and makes him pay the fines for not showing up. I know a lot of you will disagree with me on this, but I think it's important they do that if he doesn't show on time.

Nope. You want this to end with handshakes and big smiles. Sticking to those fines is no way to accomplish that.

 

[Merlin]

Nope. You want this to end with handshakes and big smiles. Sticking to those fines is no way to accomplish that.

If you come to terms, absolutely. And in that regard, by all means waive the fines after the fact.

But if not? Then you agree with his reps that business is business and make him pony up the diniero.

 

[12intheBox]

If you come to terms, absolutely. And in that regard, by all means waive the fines after the fact.

But if not? Then you agree with his reps that business is business and make him pony up the diniero.

Here is how this went down last year (and usually goes): "We are happy to continue negotiating an extension. In the meantime, Aaron will report to camp tomorrow if you agree to waive all fines for missing camp."

How would you answer that if you were the Rams?