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RockRam
If he's supposed to be a pass rush DE and not a DT, then 10 sacks is puny.
This is the same kind of argument that was made for Jimmy Graham. That is, he ought to be paid like a WR and not like a TE because they split him out wide.
Well, today, that's just part of the position for a TE. And, BTW, the argument didn't work.
Can't have it both ways. Donald is either a super good DT, or a pretty good DE. Either way, taking a quantum leap over the next highest paid DT is simply not warranted and I don't believe it'll happen.
And, BTW, I 'm not so sure how Donald might perform compared to others if he were made a 4-3 rush DE.
All that said, I do think all the points that are being made on this board about why Donald should redefine what a DT makes is what Donald's agents are saying.
And I'm saying the Rams aren't buying it. What'll happen? I don't know. But it's been my position for well over a year that Donald will NOT get a new long term deal with the Rams because I think he's overplaying his hand. I see him as a Ram this year, then 2019 and 2020 as Tagged, and then gone. Perhaps 2020 tagged and traded.
He led the league in both facing multiple blockers AND in qb pressures at the same time. Name the last DT who did that.
That's dang near being an oxymoron.
You're fighting a rearguard action on the wrong front The Rams are not only buying he is a "best defender" they flat say so.
They have never once described him as a "top DT" in the context of contract talks. It's always top defensive player.
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.
