Los Angeles Rams: Once again, Aaron Donald contract updates mean nothing until official

Despite another recent update on Aaron Donald’s contract situation with the Los Angeles Rams, nothing matter until an official deal is in place.

As difficult as it is to believe, the Los Angeles Rams will enter the final week of preseason for the second year in a row without Aaron Donald present, as the defensive superstar continues to holdout over a new contract.

From Donald’s perspective, it’s easy to understand all of the frustration over not receiving a contract since every other member of the Rams seems to be getting paid besides him. But with the start of the new regular season right around the corner, Los Angeles fans can only hope the two sides can reach an agreement with enough time before that game against the Oakland Raiders so Donald may actually play.

When considering how things played out last summer, one would think the Rams would have learned their lesson by now when it comes to how long Donald would be willing to holdout since dealing with this situation for a second year in a row seemed like a nightmare scenario.

Sure, the argument can be made that Wade Phillips and the rest of the defense would be just fine without Donald, but his presence alone on the field is an absolute game changer.

Since Donald and the Rams were reportedly in discussions over a potential new deal in the middle of last season, most fans assumed some sort of agreement would have been reached by now, which obviously isn’t the case. And despite another update in regards to Los Angeles being on the verge of rewarding Donald with a record-setting deal that would put him in the ballpark of making $22 million per year, nothing will matter until an agreement is official.

Think about how many times over the last couple of months that Donald and the Rams were “close to an agreement” on a new deal, only to see nothing come out of it.

Even if these recent updates finally end up coming true, it’s tough to get excited over the possibility when all Los Angeles fans want is to see a deal become official to end all of the constant wondering about whether it’s finally going to happen.

From a productive standpoint, there’s no question Donald deserves to be one of the league’s highest defensive players when looking at how quickly he’s made an impact on the defensive side of the football for the Rams.

Week 1 against the Raiders is officially less than two weeks away, and the last thing Los Angeles wants to see is this contract situation with Donald continue to be a distraction. The latest report about Donald and the Rams being close to an agreement is exciting, but once again, is completely meaningless until it all becomes official to end the constant waiting.