Given the reports surrounding Los Angeles Rams superstar defensive tackle Aaron Donald, there hasn’t been much optimism that a new deal would be done, any time soon.
As you’re likely aware, Donald has remained away from the Rams throughout the offseason and remains away as the team prepares for its first preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Donald didn’t show up on Tuesday, which was a critical date for him as far as free agency goes, and one report indicated he had “no plans” to show up for work “any time soon.”
It all painted a pretty bleak picture about how things are going between the star and his team. However, based on comments made by Rams general manager Les Snead, Donald might be showing up for work sooner than we’ve been led to believe.
“We’re in the same zip code, area code, ballpark,” Snead said, according to Rich Hammond of the Orange County Register.
As Hammond wrote, when “asked to clarify what ‘zip code’ meant, in terms of negotiations, Snead said, ‘I think we all know what that means. Zip code usually means you’re close, but you still haven’t agreed.’”
That’s an encouraging update.
Whenever Donald does sign his new deal, it’ll certainly be the biggest contract signed by a defensive player in league history. He’s the best player in the league, regardless of position, and could be looking at north of $20 million per year when it’s all said and done.
Thankfully, based on what Donald did last year after holding out in similar fashion — all he did was win Defensive Player of the Year — the Rams don’t have to worry about this holdout affecting his ability to dominate in 2018.