[azramsfan93]

By painting Donald in a bad light which the Rams have been very careful not to do up to this point. To me this represents a possible change in the situation not a dirty move by the Rams.

And i can't say this part enough: This is all speculation since none of knows how accurate the information we're getting is.

But if the Rams are making what most people would consider fair/generous offers to Donald and it's not enough for him (again we don't know but it's leaning a little that way imo) then i'd expect the Rams at some point soon to say, "look we've made you some very generous offers that we'd love for you to take but if they're not acceptable to you, we expect you to honor the contract your currently playing under."

And i would, as a fan, support that.

As zn has pointed out Donald's holdout isn't really much of a holdout since they've been actively negotiating and both sides were okay with Donald not reporting until the deal gets done.

But if negotiations break down (and maybe that's what these leaks are telling us), different situation and then it would be time for Donald to show up under his current contract and play for big money later which is risky for him but still not a bad situation to be in...

Not much to argue with in this... good post.

[PhxRam]

But if negotiations break down

IMO, we are past the point of "negotiations"

I have to assume at this point that the Rams have placed their best offer on the table.

IF Donalds camp has rejected the offer and has drawn a hard line in the sand by making contractual demands, that is no longer "negotiating".

[/zn/]

By painting Donald in a bad light which the Rams have been very careful not to do up to this point. To me this represents a possible change in the situation not a dirty move by the Rams.

And i can't say this part enough: This is all speculation since none of knows how accurate the information we're getting is.

But if the Rams are making what most people would consider fair/generous offers to Donald and it's not enough for him (again we don't know but it's leaning a little that way imo) then i'd expect the Rams at some point soon to say, "look we've made you some very generous offers that we'd love for you to take but if they're not acceptable to you, we expect you to honor the contract your currently playing under."

And i would, as a fan, support that.

As zn has pointed out Donald's holdout isn't really much of a holdout since they've been actively negotiating and both sides were okay with Donald not reporting until the deal gets done.

But if negotiations break down (and maybe that's what these leaks are telling us), different situation and then it would be time for Donald to show up under his current contract and play for big money later which is risky for him but still not a bad situation to be in...

Not sure I agree with every exact nuance there but overall yeah good post.

[snackdaddy]

This whole thing has gotten frustrating. Emotions seem to be running a little high one way or the other. I'm just glad we have football in a couple days. Like A1 said in another thread, the offense is my main focus. I want to see if they are truly ready to turn a corner and become a legit NFL offense. That is what has been holding this team back for a long time.

Aaron Donald will not be playing Sunday. And probably not the next Sunday and maybe a few more after that. I'm approaching it as I would with any key player who's out with an injury. Next man up. The defense as a whole needs to play well enough. The Donald situation is out of the players hands and out of the fans hands. The Colts should be the focus this week.

[HopHead Ram]

This whole thing has gotten frustrating. Emotions seem to be running a little high one way or the other. I'm just glad we have football in a couple days. Like A1 said in another thread, the offense is my main focus. I want to see if they are truly ready to turn a corner and become a legit NFL offense. That is what has been holding this team back for a long time.

Aaron Donald will not be playing Sunday. And probably not the next Sunday and maybe a few more after that. I'm approaching it as I would with any key player who's out with an injury. Next man up. The defense as a whole needs to play well enough. The Donald situation is out of the players hands and out of the fans hands. The Colts should be the focus this week.

100% This.
I have the exact same mindset, At this point, I have accepted that we may not have AD for some time. At the end of the day, I am choosing to look at this like I would any key player not playing due to injury. Next man up and lets go. It's not ideal but it is the reality of the situation that is 1000% out of our control. I hope that they come to an agreement sooner rather than later but I honestly will not lose 1 wink of sleep over AD not being here. We have meaningful football in a little over 48 hours from now. That is the only thing that should matter to us.

[dieterbrock]

If the Rams are offering $70M guaranteed how big of a deal is the "structure"?

I seriously doubt they are proposing that all the money is paid at the end of the contract.

$70M has just set your family for life, and your kids families if managed.

How do we know that's what was offered?

[/zn/]

How do we know that's what was offered?

It isn't. No one said that. A regular fan type poster said that in response to Albright. No reporter has used that figure.

[BuiltRamTough]

I said pay the man!

[max]

News flash: Donald ain't playing this week and possibly not for a few more weeks. That my friends is a HOLD OUT.

But what does that really mean to the Rams?

I think the Rams feel this year is about finding out and hoping that Goff is the answer.

If Goff stinks, then how significant is it that the Rams signed Donald for a monster contract? I say not at all.

If Goff shines, then the Rams may think otherwise. But not until then.

And what if Goff looks pretty good but the defense isn't good enough to prevent the team from being out of the playoffs by the time Donald comes back. How do you think Donald coming back to punch the clock to get his time is so he can leave early will be received? Me: Not so much.

My fear is that Donald is that jackass we saw on the field in SF last year. Great player, but a real jackass.

[Elvis]

You also gotta wonder if the Rams want to keep a lot of their upcoming cap space available for a possible Kirk Cousins situation next year, could be one of the contingencies they're gaming out...