How the Aaron Donald situation could impact Lamarcus Joyner
Andrew Ortenberg
[
theramswire.usatoday.com]
As one of the best players in all of football, Aaron Donald and his contract have naturally generated most of the Los Angeles Rams-related headlines this offseason. But there’s another star in need of a new contract who’s flown more under the radar. Safety Lamarcus Joyner, who was franchise tagged back in March, is also scheduled to be a free agent after this season.
Joyner was drafted by the Rams in the second round in 2014 and had just finished up his rookie deal when the Rams slapped the tag on him. Donald, who famously held out all of last summer, missing week 1 before returning to win Defensive Player of the Year, is still playing under his rookie deal and looking for an extension.
Although the two situations are totally separate, they may end up intertwined. As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk pointed out recently, the Rams’ continued impasse with Donald and his representatives could impact their ability to strike a deal with Joyner. The deadline for teams to reach an agreement on an extension with franchise-tagged players is July 16. If no deal is agreed to by then, no contract can be negotiated until after the season, when Joyner would be an unrestricted free agent.
Rams fans are getting very impatient over what they see as the team’s reluctance to “pay the man” (Donald), and it could be bad optics for the team to lock up Joyner with Donald still unsigned. As Florio puts it, the team “would probably have a hard time giving big money to Joyner before finally extending the contract of defensive tackle Aaron Donald.” Committing a large amount of money to Joyner without also signing Donald would only increase fan unrest and provide headaches for the team with mounting questions as to why they’re unable to agree to terms with Donald.
The deadline is only eight days away, and with a deal between Donald and the Rams not appearing to be imminent, it could very well mean Joyner plays out this season under the tag and becomes a free agent next spring. Although Joyner recently said he wasn’t concerned with his contract, everyone will be watching over the next week to see what happens. If Joyner is extended before the July 16th deadline, it could mean the long awaited Donald mega-deal is finally on the horizon.
