The official Aaron Donald IS BACK thread

[Ramhusker]

Well, I hope this drug out drama is the freak over!!!!!!! Let's play ball!!!!!!!!

 

[ArkyRamsFan]

While I certainly welcome back Mr. Donald I would still trade him to the Titans for Taylor Lewin and a 1st, 2nd and 3rd and 4th round picks in a heart beat.
Nobody should be fooled that we won't be going through this next year and from now on. This dude has shown who he really is and we need to face that reality head on.

~ArkyRamsFan~

 

[Loyal]

While I certainly welcome back Mr. Donald I would still trade him to the Titans for Taylor Lewin and a 1st, 2nd and 3rd and 4th round picks in a heart beat.
Nobody should be fooled that we won't be going through this next year and from now on. This dude has shown who he really is and we need to face that reality head on.

~ArkyRamsFan~

We need to sign him long term, that's what we need to face. You don't dump HOFers when you have them. Taylor Lewan is pretty good, but what are the other picks but floating pieces of cr@p?..er hope?. These guys that we think we know are looking after their own interests first of all..all of them..to think otherwise is naive. I didn't like what AD did this summer, but I also know that I have never walked in his shoes...

 

[ArkyRamsFan]

We need to sign him long term, that's what we need to face. You don't dump HOFers when you have them. Taylor Lewan is pretty good, but what are the other picks but floating pieces of cr@p?..er hope?. These guys that we think we know are looking after their own interests first of all..all of them..to think otherwise is naive. I didn't like what AD did this summer, but I also know that I have never walked in his shoes...

LoyalRam,
From what I can gather signing Donald long term is going to involve he becoming the highest paid defensive player in the league and an opt out clause after 3 years.
Neither of these are acceptable to me since it would put the Rams in cap hell and keep us in cap hell and cause us to potentially miss out on resigning either TruJo or Sammy Watkins or both.
I'll pass.
Not to mention the depth on our team is dangerously thin and a couple of key injuries and we can all but mail in the 2017 season. We simply must address the depth issue so we can compete when the inevitable injuries start to mount.

~ArkyRamsFan~

 

[Loyal]

LoyalRam,
From what I can gather signing Donald long term is going to involve he becoming the highest paid defensive player in the league and an opt out clause after 3 years.
Neither of these are acceptable to me since it would put the Rams in cap hell and keep us in cap hell and cause us to potentially miss out on resigning either TruJo or Sammy Watkins or both.
I'll pass.
Not to mention the depth on our team is dangerously thin and a couple of key injuries and we can all but mail in the 2017 season. We simply must address the depth issue so we can compete when the inevitable injuries start to mount.

~ArkyRamsFan~

What I said before still stands. and, there is no way in hail Donald or any player of his caliber will get a 3 year opt out. That would be owner suicide if they started doing that. I remember that Demoff said a few months ago concerning Donald and others who's contracts are coming due soon (Ogletree, etc...), that there was more than enough money to keep pivotal players and I'll believe him about that.

 

[Picked4td]

LoyalRam,
From what I can gather signing Donald long term is going to involve he becoming the highest paid defensive player in the league and an opt out clause after 3 years.
Neither of these are acceptable to me since it would put the Rams in cap hell and keep us in cap hell and cause us to potentially miss out on resigning either TruJo or Sammy Watkins or both.
I'll pass.
Not to mention the depth on our team is dangerously thin and a couple of key injuries and we can all but mail in the 2017 season. We simply must address the depth issue so we can compete when the inevitable injuries start to mount.

~ArkyRamsFan~

Little to no chance of him getting a 3yr opt out, especially now after basically admitting he has no leverage by reporting to the team. As for him being the highest paid defensive player and that putting us in cap hell, the Rams are currently not paying "normal" QB money to a QB. As long as Goff is the starting QB and still on his rookie deal (5th year excluded), the Rams are saving nearly 20m at the QB spot, which you can move to Donald. There are plenty of successful teams out there paying their QB 20m+ so if the Rams are in cap hell after basically making Donald their QB money wise (and their QB still on a cheap rookie deal) the problem isnt what Donald is making.

 

[Bkfld_Rams]

Where are those videos of Donald working out?

 

[jrry32]

Easy for you to post sir, you're a lawyer, you have no emotion.

Well, you have me there.

 

[Ramhusker]

All AD would have to do now upon his return is pop a squat during the National Anthem and heads would really begin to explode. Let's hope not.

 

[jrry32]

There you go again starting that the Rams went pay him like it's a fact. They'll pay him on the contract they had already and they were trying to pay him on a new contract, too.

It's a fact. Donald held out to get the contract he wants. The Rams weren't willing to give him it. Both were business decisions.

Just because AD wants something doesn't mean that he should get it. It also doesn't mean the Rams can provide it. They have limitations, especially with the cap this year.

As I said, both sides made business decisions. And now we're here.

And the Rams are in no way obligated to give him a contract extension. It's a really freaking good idea. It's an amazingly sound business decision, but they aren't obligated. They aren't required to. It isn't any different than when you work for a company with an NCA. You can't go anywhere, but maybe you can apply leverage to get more pay. If you're leverage doesn't work the company isn't required in any way to give you more just because you've earned it. Donald can't go work for anyone else right now. He can stop working, but that's all he's got on his side. The Rams have a legally binding document that says how much they will pay him. They aren't obligated to give him more. He's not entitled to any more. He deserves the hell out of it, but won't get it unless someone decided to do the right thing simply for the fact that it's the right thing and they want to see him at work.

The Rams aren't obligated to give him an extension. He's not obligated to play.

And saying he showed up early for week two is the most asinine thing I've heard in a while. Your ignoring the fact that he showed up late for week one. Which I guess is okay if you're in the habit of ignoring facts in order to make a point. But he did show up late for week one, and he will still get paid for week one. It's a calculated dick move on his part. Smart, cunning, disrespectful to the team, disrespectful to his teammates, and disrespectful to the fans. If you don't feel disrespected by it, good for you, but the anybody else can without being considered misguided having people doubt our ability to reason.

I didn't ignore any facts. I offered an explanation for why he decided to show up now. Would you have been happier if he dragged it out until Monday?

I don't think it is a calculated dick move. Donald and the Rams were playing chicken. Donald felt he needed the realization that he wouldn't be available to play Week 1 to pressure the Rams into blinking. The Rams didn't blink. Donald decided not to be a distraction and reported. Now, he can be there for his teammates, and he can prepare for next week's game.

And no, I don't feel disrespected by a business decision. I don't feel disrespected by the Rams not giving him the deal he wanted. I don't feel disrespected by the Rams cutting players or letting players walk in FA. This is a game and a business. Both sides are looking out for their own best interests.

Edit: I actually might have gone a touch too far there at the end. I got caught up in the moment. I don't think he was intentionally disrespectful to fans/teammates. However, he did disrespect the team as an organization by showing up when he did. And it wouldn't be unreasonable for teammates or fans to feel disrespected by extension of they feel a connection to the team.

I think that's taking a business decision too personally. I don't think it's disrespectful when the Rams cut a player. Hell, the Rams cut Isaac Bruce of all people. I wouldn't expect Isaac to take it as the Rams disrespecting him. It's a business. You make decisions that benefit yourself.

 

[jrry32]

To put it bluntly, I think people are taking this too personally. As I've said many times, it's a business for all sides. The Rams will cut a player when he's no longer worth the money they are paying him. A player will hold out when he feels he's worth more than he's being paid. The Rams will up and leave their home when they find a better deal elsewhere. There's no loyalty in this game. I'm not going to take any of this personally. It's not my money.

 

[shaunpinney]

Glad he's back in the room, hopefully we can all concentrate on the game in had now. As @jrry32 says it's all business at the end of the day, I hope they reach a contract that's good for both sides.

I'm also glad that he's not playing this weekend, it shows the cut of McVay's jib, he didn't get all giddy and start him straight away, he has big balls of steel and has really shown that no 1 player is bigger than the team, it also shows confidence in Phillips' system and in Tenzel Smart - I just hope that the decision doesn't hurt us.

#GoRams

 

[norcalramfan]

It's a fact. Donald held out to get the contract he wants. The Rams weren't willing to give him it. Both were business decisions.


As I said, both sides made business decisions. And now we're here.



The Rams aren't obligated to give him an extension. He's not obligated to play.



I didn't ignore any facts. I offered an explanation for why he decided to show up now. Would you have been happier if he dragged it out until Monday?

I don't think it is a calculated dick move. Donald and the Rams were playing chicken. Donald felt he needed the realization that he wouldn't be available to play Week 1 to pressure the Rams into blinking. The Rams didn't blink. Donald decided not to be a distraction and reported. Now, he can be there for his teammates, and he can prepare for next week's game.

And no, I don't feel disrespected by a business decision. I don't feel disrespected by the Rams not giving him the deal he wanted. I don't feel disrespected by the Rams cutting players or letting players walk in FA. This is a game and a business. Both sides are looking out for their own best interests.



I think that's taking a business decision too personally. I don't think it's disrespectful when the Rams cut a player. Hell, the Rams cut Isaac Bruce of all people. I wouldn't expect Isaac to take it as the Rams disrespecting him. It's a business. You make decisions that benefit yourself.

Not obligated to play? Really? The Rams had no right to fine him for not fulfilling his contractual obligations? He is obligated to meet the terms of his contract. Could I refuse to build a freeway or anything else, wanting more money, after contracting to do it for less. I think I'd be sued for non performance very quickly. Mr. Donald is fortunate that the Rams were nice enough to let him off the hook for what he owes them.

 

[jrry32]

Not obligated to play? Really?

Correct. Aaron Donald isn't obligated to play. He could say tomorrow, "I'm never playing for the Rams again. If that means not playing football, fine, I won't play football." The Rams can't do anything to change that.

The Rams had no right to fine him for not fulfilling his contractual obligations?

The Rams have every right to fine him, but the fines come out of his paycheck. If he doesn't play, he doesn't get paid. Thus, he doesn't pay the fines until he decides to play again. If that never happens, he doesn't ever pay the fines.

He is obligated to meet the terms of his contract.

As long as he plays in the NFL, this is correct. But he can decide to not play at any time.

Could I refuse to build a freeway or anything else, wanting more money, after contracting to do it for less. I think I'd be sued for non performance very quickly.

They could only sue you if they prove they were injured by your refusal to perform. If they hired another person to build the freeway at the same cost, they couldn't recover anything from you (assuming they didn't spend any extra money finding a new contractor). You can breach a contract at any time. You just have to deal with the consequences of it. Specific performance is a remedy that is almost never granted outside of real estate (and would never be granted for a personal service or employment contract).

In your example, the court won't make you build the freeway. They'll just make you compensate the other side for the added cost in hiring someone else to do it.

Mr. Donald is fortunate that the Rams were nice enough to let him off the hook for what he owes them.

He's not fortunate. The Rams didn't do it out of generosity. They made a business decision. They knew if they tried to make him pay the fines, there was no reason for him to report before he got a new deal. They decided that the deterrent effect of fining Donald was less valuable than having Donald report and play.

This isn't about generosity or kindness. The Rams are a business. They made a decision that was best for their business. You don't say that a grocery store is being kind or generous when they have a sale to entice you to buy a product, do you?

 

[jap]

I'm afraid too many people here prefer to look to view things from the standpoint of a FANatic and not from the standpoint of an unusually talented player negotiating a new contract with a business entity where the financial infrastructure is set up to favor the interests of the latter.

 

[Prime Time]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...e-for-a-long-term-solution-with-aaron-donald/

Rams still hope for a long-term solution with Aaron Donald
Posted by Mike Florio on September 9, 2017

Getty Images

Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald is back. And, per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Rams still want to sign him to a long-term contract. And, as a practical matter, the Rams still hold the cards.

With Donald under contract for two more years and then subject to back-to-back franchise tags, he wouldn’t hit the open market for four years, until he’s on the brink of turning 30. They don’t have to give him a market-value contract, and by the time he makes it to the market he may not be a player who commands market value.

And while Donald found a way to preserve both his money and his body for 2017, he’ll continue to be at the mercy of the team’s leverage — unless and until the team decides to set its leverage aside and sign Donald to a deal worth more than it has to.

Maybe the Rams are taking a hard line after paying too much for receiver Tavon Austin and giving up too much for quarterback Jared Goff. If so, maybe they should wait for the next guy in line for a new deal to play hardball, given Donald’s value to the team.

 

[den-the-coach]

you want us on that wall. You need us on that wall.

We don't need no adjudication
We don't need no gun control
No dark sarcasm in the courtroom
Lawyers leave them folks alone
Hey lawyer leave them folks alone
All in all it's just another brick in the wall
All in all you're just another brick in the wall

 

[Ants]

To put it bluntly, I think people are taking this too personally. As I've said many times, it's a business for all sides. The Rams will cut a player when he's no longer worth the money they are paying him. A player will hold out when he feels he's worth more than he's being paid. The Rams will up and leave their home when they find a better deal elsewhere. There's no loyalty in this game. I'm not going to take any of this personally. It's not my money.

EXACTLY!!! :yay:

 

[Ants]

I'm afraid too many people here prefer to look to view things from the standpoint of a FANatic and not from the standpoint of an unusually talented player negotiating a new contract with a business entity where the financial infrastructure is set up to favor the interests of the latter.

Also, EXACTLY!!! :yay:

 

[12intheBox]

We don't need no adjudication
We don't need no gun control
No dark sarcasm in the courtroom
Lawyers leave them folks alone
Hey lawyer leave them folks alone
All in all it's just another brick in the wall
All in all you're just another brick in the wall

How I wish, I wish my lawyer were here
We're just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl
Year after year
Running over the same old ground
And how we found
The same old fears
Wish my lawyer were here