The Los Angeles Rams finally get it right with Aaron Donald

The Los Angeles Rams and defensive tackle Aaron Donald reach an agreement on a new deal, just as the preseason ends, and the 2018 regular season gets set to begin.

The Los Angeles Rams finally got it right with Aaron Donald. After two exhibition seasons with their best player holding out, both sides got together on a deal that could keep Donald with LA for the next seven years.

The deal is worth $135 million, of which $87 million is guaranteed. Perhaps most important is that it is the richest defensive deal in the history of the NFL.

It is also absolutely deserved for the most dominant defensive lineman in the league.

The good news for fans, and probably bad for the teams on the Rams schedule, is he’ll be ready for the Monday Night opener when Los Angeles plays on the road against the Oakland Raiders. It’ll also be the debut of what could be the best defensive line in the NFL, as free agent acquisition Ndamukong Suh will finally line up with Donald.

Finally, it’s the end of the road for a story that needed a happy and deserving ending. It took a long time, probably too long, but after an off-season that saw the Rams collect some big ticket items and pay some players like running back Todd Gurley and wide receiver Brandin Cooks, the guy who needed to get paid most, did.

Meaning Los Angeles got it right with the one player they absolutely needed to.

It will also ratchet up the pressure for the Rams as they begin a quest towards a Super Bowl. With Donald back in the locker room, the sky high expectations attached to this team won’t allow for much else other than a legitimate run at a championship, especially since that window will begin to close in two years when some contracts expire, and quarterback Jared Goff comes due.

But for now, Los Angeles has their defensive centerpiece back, paid, and in the fold for the foreseeable future.