IRVINE, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Rams will begin training camp without their best player.
Aaron Donald's representatives informed the team on Friday that the star defensive tackle will not attend the first practice at UC Irvine on Saturday afternoon, and there's no telling when he will show up.
The Rams and Donald's reps at CAA have been immersed in contract negotiations for most of the calendar year but have been unable to get anything done. Donald skipped the three weeks of organized team activities this spring. He avoided a fine by showing up for the three-day veteran minicamp, but he worked out only on his own. Now he is the only Rams player absent.
In a joint press conference with rookie head coach Sean McVay on Friday afternoon, sixth-year general manager Les Snead restated a familiar line: "Aaron is a priority."
"Right now," Snead said, "the focus is getting a contract done so that Aaron's a Ram for a long time."
Snead wouldn't get into details on where the negotiations stand and didn't provide any clarity as to when Donald might rejoin the team. Veterans were due on the campus of UC Irvine by 11 a.m. PT on Friday, then took a conditioning test a half-hour later. Donald, two years away from free agency and seeking higher compensation for his stellar defensive play, will face daily $40,000 fines for every practice that he skips.
Outside linebacker Robert Quinn, one of Donald's closest friends on the team, doesn't believe the unsettled contract situation will create a distraction.
"Not at all," Quinn said upon arriving at camp. "Even during OTAs, guys didn't let it become a problem. We know it's hard; we know he wants to be here. My college coach told me, 'Make plays, get paid.' So it kind of balances itself out. Aaron has a great heart. He loves playing football, first and foremost. He's just going through a tough little situation right now. The guys have his back, and once he finally decides to come out here, we'd love to see his face and take it from there."
New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr., originally drafted one spot ahead of Donald, is another first-round pick from 2014 who is seeking a new contract. Beckham reported to training camp, but he also said in a video posted by Uninterrupted that he seeks to be the highest-paid player in the game.
Donald can at least make a case for being the game's highest-paid defensive player.
The 26-year-old has been invited to the Pro Bowl every season since being the No. 13 overall pick three years ago and was first-team All-Pro each of the past two years. Last year, he led the NFL in quarterback hits and tied for the lead in tackles for loss. Heading into this season, Pro Football Focus deemed Donald the game's best player, regardless of position.
But the gap between Donald's scheduled earnings and the contract he deserves is monumental. Donald is set to combine for less than $9 million in base salary over the next two seasons. The game's highest-paid defensive player, Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller, signed a six-year, $114.5 million deal that guarantees him $70 million. The highest-paid defensive tackle, Ndamukong Suh, signed a six-year, $114.375 million deal that guarantees him nearly $60 million.
Snead said both sides are nonetheless "working hard to get something done."
"Today is no different than yesterday or this spring," Snead said. "Aaron's play speaks for itself; that's the reason we want to make him a Ram long term. Today doesn't change that urgency at all."
Donald is the first noteworthy Rams player to hold out since star running back Steven Jackson in 2008, when the team was still in St. Louis. Donald's holdout comes in the wake of the Rams' 10th consecutive losing season, a 4-12 record in their first year back in Los Angeles. McVay addressed Donald's situation with the team earlier on Friday.
"I know his teammates have a whole lot of respect for Aaron with the way he competes, what he's about," McVay said. "He loves the game of football. He represents what's right about this game in terms of the top-tier player that he is. I know that they would want him to be around, but there are business elements to this thing that take place and have some nuance to them."
The Rams previously extended Quinn and receiver Tavon Austin before their fourth seasons in the league, but those moves took place around September. J.J. Watt's deal came around that time, too, back in 2014. The Houston Texans' defensive end is the only one among the five highest-paid defensive players to get his extension before his fourth NFL season.
The Rams are set up to have nearly $40 million in cap space in 2018, seventh highest in the NFL. But they would also like to figure out extensions for inside linebacker Alec Ogletree and defensive back Lamarcus Joyner, both of whom are scheduled to be free agents at the end of the season and might first have to wait for Donald's situation to be resolved.
McVay said Thursday that he communicated with Donald "over the course of the offseason" and that he believes they have had "good dialogue."
On Friday, he and Snead used the word "respect" to describe Donald or his representatives or the process 11 times during a 10-minute media session.
"I definitely respect Aaron as a human, respect the process," Snead said at one point.
"Respect Aaron," McVay added in another. "Respect his agents working through this."
But Donald wants that respect in actual dollars.