Time for Rams to get back to business with new deal for Aaron Donald

Longtime Los Angeles Rams fans have been getting a dose of déjà vu in recent weeks over the Aaron Donald situation, and are growing increasingly tired of it.

With July now in full effect and the 2017 NFL offseason turning towards its stretch run to the finish line, Los Angeles Rams fans find themselves with no further distractions to take their thoughts away from the growing frustration that had been building consistently this offseason. The frustration of their team’s highest-rated defensive star in Aaron Donald possibly entering training camp without a new contract while other stars around the league, such as Derek Carr, continue to get paid could end up backfiring for the Rams.

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Between their new city rivals in the Los Angeles Chargers officially making the move from San Diego along with the 49ers landing an offensive genius at head coach in Kyle Shanahan, the Rams can’t afford to lose any momentum gained from the last few months. Since the firing of former head coach Jeff Fisher, Los Angeles has done a phenomenal job of putting a new coaching staff firmly in place led by Sean McVay to hopefully improve from last year’s 4-12 season.

True Rams fans are not resting comfortably. We remember the history of the eras following the late and well-respected Carroll Rosenbloom’s death. Most prominently in mind, the days of his late wife, ex-showgirl and astrology enthusiast, Georgia Rosenbloom-turned-Frontiere, when she took over and embraced ownership of the team.

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Her infamous move of the team from Los Angeles to her native city, St. Louis, is now a bittersweet book placed high on many mental shelves and now collecting dust. However, the exile of arguably the franchise’s and NFL’s best and most gifted player ever, running back Eric Dickerson, is suddenly back on the tips of tongues as well as fast-flying social media fingertips within the proud and loyal family of Rams fans who couldn’t care any less about the championship of a basketball team in northern California.

It didn’t help the Rams brain trust that the seemingly mediocre-at-best cornerback Janoris Jenkins was allowed to leave a season ago in preference of current squad best cornerback Trumaine Johnson only to have a monster season with the New York Giants. And now rubbing salt in that still-fresh wound comes the jarring realization that Johnson is probably lost as well after this season, if not before via some significant trade deal.

Yes, this is the city of Los Angeles, we get that. There’s a lot to do and the collective attention span of such cities is usually short’n not-so-sweet, but that’s not the point here. Regardless of location in most cases, players are human. They have to hear the negative buzz from us fans, from the media, friends and even family members.

Even more, they communicate with and follow other NFL players. This gets old after awhile and can be both annoying and embarrassing from within the spotlight they are obligated to deal with to the quiet moments in thought or discussions within their private circles. For the Rams, at a time when they just might be at the beginning of looking attractive again to upcoming free agent classes, it is simply not smart business to drag Donald’s contract situation out much further than mid-July. Their fans may be impatient, but Los Angeles is also smart enough to recognize a potential future Hall of Famer like Donald when they see one.

At least for now, most of us have faith and believe a new deal will get done, and Donald will be a a member of the Rams for life, as generational players should always remain. But again, this is a team and franchise with suspect credentials since the days of coach John Robinson’s ground-and-pound-capable teams of the 80s and minus the Dick Vermeil “Greatest Show on Turf” era when he insisted on the control most coaches can only dream of (at least until they get it).  What we don’t want and certainly don’t need before Jared Goff is compared to Tom Brady is to become another version of the New England Patriots when it comes to contract signings.

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The mode-less Donald, despite any possibly east coast biased player-voted lists, is a naturally-born beast that’s easily one of the NFL’s 10 best players. If Los Angeles were smart, they wouldn’t waste any more time in signing Donald, and bring back some luster to the franchise by making a tidal wave-sized splash doing it.