Los Angeles Rams: Michael Brockers claims holdout ‘killing’ Aaron Donald
By Dan Parzych
Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle has already missed the first two days of training camp due to a holdout for a new contract.
After months of waiting, training camp for the Los Angeles Rams finally got underway this past weekend, and while there’s been plenty of excitement thanks to numerous key changes in the offseason, the absence of Aaron Donald is still a major reason for concern. The defensive superstar has made it clear for months how unhappy he was over his contract situation heading into training camp, and even though Les Snead continued to claim a new deal for Donald was a top priority, it still hasn’t happened.
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Now, all Los Angeles can do is wait to see how long this holdout lasts for Donald, but hopefully the two parties can figure out a way to reach an agreement sooner rather than later. It’s no secret how important Donald is to the Rams’ defense, as he’s quickly emerged as one of the top defensive players, and according to Michael Brockers, it’s killing his teammate not being on the practice field.
Last season alone is the perfect example of how valuable Donald is to the defense after leading the league with 31 quarterback hits to go along with eight sacks, which is impressive when considering all of the extra attention received from opponents. The defense for Los Angeles has been considered one of the most underrated units over the last few years, and with Wade Phillips on board as defensive coordinator, expectations are higher than ever for the unit.
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Of course, the best chance of the defense living up to the hype is taking care of Donald’s contract situation to finally get him participating at training camp. Otherwise, the frustration on Donald’s end is only going to continue building up, and cause a distraction over the next couple of weeks.