The Los Angeles Rams have made a plethora of moves to their roster this offseason to make a stronger push toward competing for a Super Bowl next season. The latest is the addition of veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks in a trade from the New England Patriots. All of this has once again brought up questions concerning All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald's contract situation as he heads into the fifth-year option of his rookie deal.
With that in mind, general manager Les Snead made it clear during Cooks' introductory press conference on Thursday morning that the team is still focused on getting a new contract worked out with Donald.
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“Again, we’ve got good dialogue with their agents. I’ll keep all of that in-house, but none of it affects Aaron Donald. He’s one of 53. As I’ve said plenty of times before, we’ve got that budgeted into the budget. We didn’t do all of this and forget about him. For sure.”
Through his first four seasons in the league, Donald has quickly earned the reputation as arguably the best defensive player in the league. He is coming off yet another highly productive campaign where he tied his career high with 11.0 sacks along with a career-best five forced fumbles and 41 total tackles that helped him earn the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.
Donald has also stacked up his resume with four Pro Bowl selections, three straight First-Team All-Pro nods, and an NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
The 26-year-old also holds the franchise mark for most sacks (39.0) by a defensive tackle, while he is only player at his position with at least eight sacks in each of his first four seasons since the 1982 season. He has more than proven to be worth a lucrative extension that could make him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history.
Ultimately, it could just be a matter of time before the Rams and Donald work out a new deal that will keep him in place for the long haul as the centerpiece of their defense.
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