Is Donald coming back??
- Thread starter WestCoastRam
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I was hearing there's a good chance Donald's return would be announced when they left LMU for their facility in Woodland Hills. That didn't happen. So here are again wondering if Donald is gonna commit or not. The past couple weeks it sounded like a done deal. Now, while its still more likely than not, it isn't a done deal. It could be because of the contract situation. Those things can take time. Donald ain't coming back for the vet minimum. Rams are not likely to sign him to a $30 million deal. So that kind of stuff needs to be worked out before he can join them.
Or he thinks Garrett's knee issue will linger and he won't have his running mate to draw the double teams.
I think Donald has worked out more with the Rams then Garrett has
I wonder if signing Donald would mean there won't be cap space for another Tackle, considering Jackson's possible suspension and Trost's injury. Whoever's available (Decker?) will be in demand if a team loses someone soon.
What I have always thought is he appeared to not come out and just say he wants to play and he is working out to see if he can play. It's always been it seems, that he wants to see if he can play to decide if he wants to play. Thats a big difference in mindset.
We'll see how it works out, but that's why I am a little more skeptical than others might be about his return.
That shouldn't be an issue. I've seen some pretty odd contracts this year. One is Cousins in Las Vegas. He's being paid 1.3 mil (the vet min) and he gets a guaranteed 10 mil roster bonus next year which happens to be a void year. His 2026 cap hit is 1.3 mil, yet he's guaranteed 11.5 mil.
Another interesting contract more comparable to what AD might see, is DJ Moore. After being traded to Buffalo, his cap hit was 23 mil but they restructured the deal so it's only 6 mil and change because they converted some to a signing bonus.
You have to be a lawyer or a liar (or both) to understand how they come up with some of these deals.
If AD comes back it'll be announced after final cut down end of day August 30th. Think they'll let it linger until then because there's no need to have him at practice or taking up a spot. He's not going to be here for preseason.
KombuchaTea
Formerly: Varg6
Obviously we want AD back, that’d be AWESOME.
But I wouldn’t be totally shocked if he doesn’t come back.
There’s been a lot of hype, but I’m trying to maintain reasonable expectations. The reality is, he won’t want to play if he doesn’t either have the spark to or, in his mind, play at the level he expects he should play at.
Hope for the best, expect the worst…
But I wouldn’t be totally shocked if he doesn’t come back.
There’s been a lot of hype, but I’m trying to maintain reasonable expectations. The reality is, he won’t want to play if he doesn’t either have the spark to or, in his mind, play at the level he expects he should play at.
Hope for the best, expect the worst…
I'd like to hear rumors of us signing Decker as a priority 1st. We can win the SB without AD (though he'd help us tremendously). We might not be able to win it without some tackle depth.
I’m certain this has been covered in the discussion thus far, so I apologize for restating the obvious again.
I still think AD is working toward coming back, and the timing actually makes sense. Let the Rams get through camp, evaluate and trim this roster, deal with any injuries and potential FA needs, and then restructure AD's contract once they have a clearer picture of the final 53 and their cap needs.
AD essentially ran his own training camp during his 2017 and 2018 holdouts. He missed all of camp both years and still came back and dominated—especially 2018, when he put up 20.5 sacks and won DPOY.
I also don't see AD coming back for some load-managed farewell tour. He's an alpha. He left the game as one of the best players in football, and I think he's training now to determine whether he can come back as his AD, not just contribute. With Garrett there, I wouldn't be surprised if that feeds his competitive fire even more.
I believe he keeps training, let the Rams sort out the roster and preserve flexibility for camp injuries/FA moves, then get the contract done as close as practical to the opener, maybe a couple weeks out. The longer timeline doesn't discourage me at all. It actually fits how AD has prepared in the past. Just my two cents. GO RAMS!!
I still think AD is working toward coming back, and the timing actually makes sense. Let the Rams get through camp, evaluate and trim this roster, deal with any injuries and potential FA needs, and then restructure AD's contract once they have a clearer picture of the final 53 and their cap needs.
AD essentially ran his own training camp during his 2017 and 2018 holdouts. He missed all of camp both years and still came back and dominated—especially 2018, when he put up 20.5 sacks and won DPOY.
I also don't see AD coming back for some load-managed farewell tour. He's an alpha. He left the game as one of the best players in football, and I think he's training now to determine whether he can come back as his AD, not just contribute. With Garrett there, I wouldn't be surprised if that feeds his competitive fire even more.
I believe he keeps training, let the Rams sort out the roster and preserve flexibility for camp injuries/FA moves, then get the contract done as close as practical to the opener, maybe a couple weeks out. The longer timeline doesn't discourage me at all. It actually fits how AD has prepared in the past. Just my two cents. GO RAMS!!
El Chapo Jr
Legend
I doubt he is enjoying any drama. AD made it plain he does not care for training camp, and he is probably spending as much time with his family as he can while killing himself to get ready.
ReekofRams
Hall of Fame
Whenever I get a post that doesn’t agree with me, I just figure they replied to the wrong person
It seems that he would know by now. If so, I can see this delayed till after the Jackson suspension is announced so that the Rams can decide whether to pursue Decker, and for how much. They will then give AD a large cash bonus, spread over x number of void years, after they know how much it'll cost.
