LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald ended his holdout Saturday, reporting to the team and passing a physical.
Donald has not received a new contract, but the two sides will keep working toward one, the Rams said. He will not play in Sunday’s season opener against the Indianapolis Colts.
Rams coach Sean McVay previously acknowledged that they wouldn’t have the defensive tackle in Week 1, saying Friday that “it’s safe to say that he won’t be a part of this game.”
Donald will be on the active roster Sunday, and the Rams are seeking a roster exemption. The exemption would allow Donald to be paid while not forcing the Rams to cut someone else to get down to 53 players.
Tanzel Smart, a rookie sixth-round pick, is expected to take Donald’s spot as the starting 3-technique lineman, lining up between the left guard and left tackle in base 3-4 sets.
Donald risked missing one of his 17 game checks for the 2017 season if he did not show up before Sunday’s 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff. He had been fined somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.4 million for not showing up during training camp or in the preseason, but a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the Rams have waived those fines.
Donald, 26, is set to earn a combined base salary of less than $9 million in 2017 and 2018, the final two years of his rookie contract. But he is seeking to be compensated as the game’s highest-paid defensive player, and it sounds as if the Rams are willing to make that happen.
The highest-paid defensive player is Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller, who signed a six-year, $114 million extension last summer that guarantees him $70 million. Next is Ndamukong Suh, who plays Donald’s position and signed a six-year, $114.375 million contract with the Miami Dolphins in 2015 that guarantees him nearly $60 million.
But those players signed their extensions after five NFL seasons. The best comparison for Donald is J.J. Watt, the only one among the five highest-paid defensive players to sign his deal after three seasons. Watt received a six-year, $100 million deal from the Houston Texans that guaranteed him about $52 million, though that came in 2014.
Donald has been staying in shape at his alma mater of Pittsburgh and could be ready to return to the defense as early as Week 2, at home against Washington, but the Rams won’t play him until they are certain he is ready.
Rams officials — a group that includes chief operating officer Kevin Demoff, general manager Les Snead and senior assistant Tony Pastoors — flew to Atlanta to meet with Donald’s representatives at CAA on Aug. 30 but left no closer to an agreement.
The two sides still aren’t believed to have made any major breakthroughs in negotiations. By not reporting earlier, though, Donald avoided the risk for injury and ultimately did not lose money.