Los Angeles Rams shouldn’t wait on Khalil Mack to address Aaron Donald

As the Los Angeles Rams and Aaron Donald engage in a game of Chicken NFL style, fans in LA should hope Oakland Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack isn’t the market setter many are waiting on.

News that Khalil Mack and the Oakland Raiders are not talking much might be a concern for Los Angeles Rams fans as they wait on Aaron Donald.

Then again, it may have little to nothing to do in the grand scheme of things.

Mack had long rumored as the possible trigger for a deal to happen between the Rams and Donald. If, and I say IF that is a scenario that needs to play out before LA and No. 99 come to terms, then things just got more complicated.

Donald, who continues to wait, has seen some in the media wonder loudly why a lot of others in LA have seen deals materialize and he has not.

It continues to be a fair question, as well as one that confounds fans. The Rams most recently took care of Todd Gurley and wide receiver Brandin Cooks. One national radio show noted that Cooks hasn’t even played a down for Los Angeles, and is wearing a third different uniform in as many years.

What the Rams are doing is glaring. After an offseason where expectations were built, the possibility that AD is not part of fulfilling said expectations will be like a sucker punch to Rams fans.

Worse is the perception being established minute by minute by an organization who seems determined to wait this out, and possibly burning up whatever goodwill remains between the Rams brain trust and Donald.

If Mack is somehow the trigger either is waiting for to gauge what happens next, don’t expect AD in a Rams uniform anytime soon. Frankly, with or without Mack as an indicator of what compensation may be for the reigning DPOY, this looks like a game of chicken with no end in sight.

It’s hard to imagine all the offseason work could be blunted by what looks like a bad plan that the Rams have rolled out.

Eventually, one wonders how this may play in the Rams locker room. Probably not hard to guess poorly.