LA Rams pieces for another SB run still not falling into place

It’s not easy to win two consecutive Super Bowls. Right now, the LA Rams are finding out firsthand just how difficult of a task that may be. Even as the fans wait, and hope, for the eventual return of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., no official word marks the team and the player as any closer in terms of reaching an agreement to re-sign OBJ.

And the watch for any such indication is widespread:

But as the team looks for OBJ to return, the fans must now also face the likelihood of defensive lineman Aaron Donald holding out once more. And that is another sore spot for the fanbase. After all, despite all the rhetoric, this comes down to money. Is it just a matter of coincidence that the guaranteed money in Aaron Donald’s six-year contract has been exhausted now? You can decide.

Even as negotiations continue, the LA Rams front office has done a very admirable job of keeping the negotiations on a positive note and has leaked nothing that could be construed as anything less than completely supportive of Aaron Donald right now.

LA Rams roster logjam

The lack of progress on Aaron Donald’s contract has not come without some inconvenience. Due to the financial significance of Donald’s deal, the Rams have not signed any of their drafted rookies. And the promised renegotiated deal with wide receiver Cooper Kupp remains ‘in the queue.’ That contract is very likely awaiting the outcome of the AD contract as well.

Truth be told, the LA Rams’ ability to come to terms with Odell Beckham Jr. may also depend heavily on the team’s coming to terms with Donald. That’s all due to the fact that the LA Rams do not sit on stacks of free salary cap funds. The Rams choose to make use of all available funds, and in doing so must await the dominoes to fall just so when they are hoping to sequence the reworking of contracts and signing new players.

When the Aaron Donald contract gets done, the team will likely have a batch of announcements regarding officially signing rookies, a new contract with WR Cooper Kupp, and perhaps even word of Odell Beckham Jr. finally signing with the team.

It’s almost comically ironic that players want NFL teams to be competitive. But at the same time, they can be a contributing cause as to why that team is unable to sign the complementary players to make a roster successful.  Just look back over the history of the NFL to those years of NFL quarterback megadeals. The quarterback got paid, and the team got slain.

Let’s hope that the LA Rams can pull off that balancing act between paying stars and reaching the stars.