Rams' Aaron Donald may take contract holdout into regular season
— -- The holdout of Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald might spill into the regular season, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter on Thursday.
A source speculated that he could envision Donald sitting out the entire 2017 season, though a lot can change in any negotiation in a hurry. But the fact that such strong speculation exists now provides a snapshot that the two sides are not particularly close to a deal.
Donald, who has 28 sacks in his three NFL seasons, is scheduled to make?$1,802,250 this season and $6.892 million next year on his fifth-year option.?
Only?nine players in the league have more sacks than Donald over the past three years, and all of them are edge rushers.
The source said the two sides will stay in touch, but there is pessimism about how long Donald's holdout could last.
Donald, 26, can at least make a case for being the game's highest-paid defensive player.
He has been invited to the Pro Bowl every season since being drafted No. 13 overall three years ago, and he was first-team All-Pro each of the past two years. Last year he led the NFL in quarterback hits and tied for the lead in tackles for loss. Heading into this season, Pro Football Focus deemed Donald the game's best player, regardless of position.
The game's highest-paid defensive player, Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller, signed a six-year, $114.5 million deal that guarantees him $70 million. The highest-paid defensive tackle, Ndamukong Suh?of the Dolphins, has a six-year, $114.375 million deal that guarantees him nearly $60 million.
Donald is the first noteworthy Rams player to hold out since star running back Steven Jackson in 2008, when the team was still in St. Louis. Donald's holdout comes in the wake of the Rams' 10th consecutive losing season, a 4-12 record in their first year back in Los Angeles.
ESPN's Alden Gonzalez and Dan Graziano contributed to this report.
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