If we had to trade AD in the off- season for draft picks.........

[Turducken]

As much heartburn as it gave me preseason, the front office handled the holdout perfectly. If they had given in when AD first threatened holdout, i don't think they would have had the cap space for all their free agent acquisitions (Whitworth, Watkins, Woods, Sullivan, Webster, Barwin). This year we are getting a $20million+ value player for a tenth of his value. Without AD playing under contract the 2017 Rams are a .500 team. Gotta figure out a way to keep him (even if it requires multiple franchise tags) because their is no one else in the NFL i would trade straight across for him at any position based on his likely value over the next 5 years (not OBJ, Aaron Rogers, Antonio Brown, etc).

Here's my take on our current and future values of our key players (YMMV) :

1 yr value AD> Whitworth>Gurley>Goff
3 yr value AD>Gurley>Goff>Whitworth
5 yr value AD > Goff > Gurley
7 yr value Goff > AD (maybe)

 

[Riverumbbq]

This is just not a decision that needs to be made today imo. Next season Donald's base salary jumps from $1.8 mil. to $6.9 mil. due to his 5'th year option, so doubtful he holds out again in 2018 even knowing he's still worth much more.
What I left out of my earlier post is a concern of mine that big dollar long term contracts could easily turn around and bite us in the butt fairly soon should the annual rise in overall league CAP begin to decline because TV revenue falls off due to over-saturation & the political reasons (player protests) held by many long time fans. When national TV networks bid on broadcasting rights they want stadiums filled and high Nielson Ratings to prove the viability of the product, when viewership drops networks won't pay the same high costs to the league, and this revenue filters down to the CAP. "Total NFL ratings for the first seven weeks of the season have declined 5% year-over-year (YoY) and 15% since the same period in 2015, according toThe Wall Street Journal." The nationwide epidemic of consumers 'cutting the cord' with cable companies is also contributing to the drop-off of revenue. I'm not sure how long the league can sustain these loses and pay ever growing salaries to its players. The Rams probably don't want to be the last team holding the bag for a non QB with the highest individual CAP hit in the league. We shouldn't forget how the Bradford contract hamstrung us while he being the last rookie of the former collective bargaining agreement received the largest rookie contract in history. If i'm the Rams front office, i'd like to see some advanced figures on those next TV contracts prior to committing to a 6 year $120 mil. deal, especially when paying on a year to year basis under the franchise tag may be of less cost than a new long term contract. The Rams still have a couple years before they need reach a final decision should they choose to do so. jmo

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

@BonifayRam The fact that he isn't holding out and came back to LA after a visit from McVay suggests that either McVay promised that the Rams will get his contract fixed to his liking, or that he was promised to be traded at seasons end if they can't. I have to give McVay the benefit of the doubt and believe if he will be resigned. He is a smart guy and knows the value of having a guy like Donald on the team, As to location, I doubt that has anything to do with it. It's more likely his greedy agent chirping in his ear and convincing him he can make more right now.

If you consider the timing of contracts, Donald getting a front loaded deal this offseason would clear cap room for when Goff is ready for a new deal.

I never know who is right on the cap reports, but some think the Rams will have a 30 mil excess. I do know that whenever it seems they don't have cap room, that they come up with a way to make it appear

 

[BriansRams]

@BonifayRam The fact that he isn't holding out and came back to LA after a visit from McVay suggests that either McVay promised that the Rams will get his contract fixed to his liking, or that he was promised to be traded at seasons end if they can't.

Or it could have been Donald thinking "Damn, the Rams didn't budge even though I held out till game 2. If I hold out all season I could greatly damage my career and my future income...."

 

[Jorgeh0605]

The holdout was smart. The amount of "savings" you get from signing a player early and potentially avoiding a bigger contract due to cap inflation is nowhere close to the amount saved by keeping him on this contract. He could be making between $14M-$17M a year average. Instead, he's playing for $3M.

Next year he plays for $7M. That's still a steal and only reason the FO would extend him is if he was serious about sitting out.

Hell, even the franchise tag wouldn't be a big cost, considering he'd likely be the highest paid at his position when resigned.

 

[Zodi]

If AD continues his current level of play for the majority of his career, he's a first ballot HOFer, no doubt.

To me, if we were to trade him, it's not a matter of how many picks a team would have to give up, but how many drafts. I'm talking Mike Ditka style. I'd say minimum two drafts, with an elite player thrown in, too.