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dzrams
2) Is Donald a DT?
Whether Donald is merely a DT versus a "pass rusher" or a DT versus "best defender category" is probably the critical issue. Sure the Rams are gonna argue he's merely a DT.
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Good post overall which is always the case with you on this issue.
I just wanted to completely nail shut this whole "best defender" thing.
It's an unofficial but real category similar to the one they created for Gurley. And it's real. It;s how the Rams speak of paying AD. The tag presents difficulties with this because since it's unofficial you can't tag someone as "best defender." But that's the way they talk and think of AD in terms of the contract.
That's right out there, right in the open. It's similar to how they treated Gurley who was never scheduled to get a 2nd contract that fit within the RB market. Snead even said they considered him an offensive POY. The exact same thing is going on with Donald and as I said that's from the Rams themselves on down.
It's why people keep comparing him to Von Miller not any DTs. It's understandable if Rock doesn't get this but for a seasoned NFL writer to not get this means he's not keeping up with the issue.
Here are just a few of many possible examples. From the Rams then from reporters
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Demoff: "We look forward to getting this done. And putting Aaron in the place where he should be among the highest-paid defensive players."
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Rams COO Kevin Demoff was a little bit more explicit in his thoughts. "Aaron deserves to be paid among the elite players in our game"
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Snead casually acknowledged that Donald is poised to supersede new teammate Ndamukong Suh as the game's highest-paid defender.
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Snead: Suh is "well aware that" he will line up next to "someone who is on the verge of being the highest-paid defensive player in football"
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Bonsignore While it’s a given Donald will reset the market for defensive players, there hasn’t been a top-end deal done on that side of the ball since Von Miller’s 2016 contract with the Broncos. That means dynamics like total value of the contract and immediate and full guarantees – the guide posts and trail markers teams and agents typically follow to bridge one record-breaking deal to the next – are a bit outdated. Setting and agreeing to new ones adds to the difficulty.
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Gonzalez: In the salary-cap world, 20 months is an eternity. That's the amount of time that has passed since the NFL's highest-paid defensive player, Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller, signed on the dotted line. It's enough time for Miller's contract to almost be considered obsolete as a potential comparison for Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, the man who is expected to eventually surpass Miller with his own extension.
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Benoit: If Donald becomes history’s highest-paid defensive player, he’d almost surely get around $70 million over the first three years
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Over the cap.com With a generational talent such as Donald, merely looking at the top defensive tackle contracts doesn’t by itself provide you with the information necessary to reach a deal. In this case, Donald’s proper comps are the deals for the top defensive lineman, with the inclusion of the league’s highest paid non-lineman defensive player (Von Miller) as well, since we’re talking about potentially the league’s best player in Donald.
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Graziano: Donald...can at least make a case for being the game's highest-paid defensive player.
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Breer (transcript from a vid): There’s 3 years of inflation at every position (that’s true) except the top defender market is represent by a 3 year old contract (Von Miller). The market correction is looked for because top defender numbers slipped from 86% in 2016 to 63% now (while EVERYONE ELSE went up since Von Miller signed).
There's more of all of this.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/2018 06:11PM by zn.
