All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald is not attending the Los Angeles Rams' mandatory minicamp while he continues his lengthy quest for a lucrative new contract.
Donald wasn't on the field with his teammates for the Rams' first minicamp workout Tuesday Cam Atkinson Jersey Kids , and he wasn't at their training complex for their off-field commitments Monday, either. The NFL Defensive Player of the Year also skipped the Rams' voluntary workout program over the previous two months.
"He's in a good place," Rams coach Sean McVay said Tuesday. "Would we want him to be here? Yeah, we'd love to have Aaron here. But it's kind of the same where it's been. We're just focusing on the guys that are here, but we're always in constant dialogue with Aaron and his group, and would like to come to a solution. When that's going to happen, it's hard to say."
Donald is home in Pittsburgh during the Rams' offseason work for the second straight year, but he reported to last season's mandatory minicamp to avoid a potential fine. This year, Donald doesn't appear to be concerned about losing money by missing minicamp while he strives to become one of the NFL's highest-paid players.
The defending NFC West champion Rams haven't indicated whether they intend to fine Donald for missing the camp, but his absence wasn't a surprise. The team could fine him more than $84,000 for missing this camp, but it waived much larger fines incurred by Donald last year when he skipped the entirety of training camp.
"When I spoke with him last week, I said, 'If there's not a solution to this by next week Craig Anderson Jersey , will you be here?'" McVay said. "He said, 'I'm going to stay back at home, continue training.'"
Donald is due to make nearly $6.9 million this season in the fifth year of his rookie contract. The team agrees he deserves a raise after turning in four dominant seasons as the cornerstone of the Rams' defense, yet the Rams and Donald's representatives still haven't made a deal after many months of talking.
The 27-year-old Donald doesn't have extensive leverage in the negotiation because the Rams theoretically could keep him for another three seasons through 2021 under a franchise tag. Neither side has disclosed their contract proposals, but Donald is widely thought to be seeking a contract big enough to make him one of the top-paid players at any position, with a salary comparable to the wages of the NFL's better quarterbacks.
The Rams have managed to maintain a positive relationship with Donald even after he skipped training camp and the entire preseason schedule last summer. He reported to the team shortly before the regular season began, missing the first game.
The four-time Pro Bowl selection also skipped most of the Rams' offseason program and organized team activities last year. Although he showed up for last season's mandatory minicamp, he didn't participate in the team drills, instead doing individual work and staying on the sidelines.
Donald is expected to be the foundation of a standout defensive line alongside Rams newcomer Ndamukong Suh, who agreed to a one-year, $14 million deal in the offseason.
Donald is missing several weeks of work with the Rams' revamped defense, which also added star cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters while losing three veteran leaders: Trumaine Johnson, Robert Quinn and captain Alec Ogletree.
The new Rams don't seem worried about missing these chances to build chemistry while establishing new leaders in the locker room.
"He's the MVP, so we know what he's going to do when he gets here Womens Josh Norman Jersey ," Talib said. "Everybody is just going to be themselves. If you're a leader, it's going to happen naturally. Nobody has to go out of their way to be a leader, go out of their way to hoorah and just yell stuff out. Everybody will just be themselves."
NOTES: Donald is the only player unaccounted for at minicamp, McVay confirmed. ... McVay is canceling Thursday's scheduled practice and taking his team on a tour of the franchise's under-construction stadium in Inglewood, California. The Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers will open the multibillion-dollar Hollywood Park stadium complex in 2020.
Russ Brandon abruptly resigned his dual role as president of the NFL's Buffalo Bills and NHL's Buffalo Sabres after being confronted by the teams' owners regarding an alleged inappropriate relationship with a female employee, two people with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because it is an internal matter, and owners Terry and Kim Pegula did not provide a reason for accepting Brandon's resignation in a statement they released Tuesday.
The relationship in question first became apparent to a number of team employees during the Sabres' visit to New York for a game against the Rangers on Jan. 18, the people said. The trip included the team hosting a fan event at a bar the day before the game.
Kim Pegula will take over Brandon's roles overseeing the Bills, Sabres and Pegula Sports Entertainment, the company which controls the owners' numerous holdings.
In a text to The AP, Brandon said he has contemplated stepping down from the job for some time, and felt the timing was right after the conclusion of the NFL draft.
"My goal when the Pegulas purchased the franchise was to reach 20 years with the Bills, in which I achieved this past November," Brandon wrote.
"As grateful as I am for the amazing experience and the incredible people I've had the privilege to work with the past two decades http://www.officialsenators.com/authentic-adidas-mike-hoffman-jersey , I am just as anxious for the professional opportunities that lie ahead," he added.
Brandon did not respond to follow-up questions regarding his relationship.
Brandon's departure comes after the Bills made a big splash in the first round of the draft by trading up to select both Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen with the seventh pick, and Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds with the 16th pick. The new additions join a Bills team that went 9-7 and ended a 17-year playoff drought last season.
On Saturday, the last-place Sabres earned a boost by winning the NHL draft lottery and the right to the No. 1 pick for the third time in franchise history.
"We have a tremendous amount of confidence in the strong leadership team we have built within each of these entities over the last several years," the statement from the Pegulas read.
"We are excited about the direction of our teams, especially after this past weekend's NFL draft and NHL lottery results. Our focus remains on building championship teams on and off the field for our fans and community."
Brandon most recently served as the Bills' managing partner, was the Sabres alternate on the NHL's board of governors and a member of the NFL's business ventures committee.
The timing of Brandon's exit comes at a time he was supposed to oversee the Bills' next big venture in determining their future home. Brandon was expected to lead the team's stadium search committee in deciding whether the Bills should continue playing at their current home or develop a new facility in downtown Buffalo.
He served in various roles with the Bills, involving both marketing and football decisions during a two-year stint as general manager from 2008-09.
He also took the lead in negotiating the Bills' most recent lease five years ago, which played a critical role in securing the franchise's long-term future in Buffalo especially following Hall of Fame owner Ralph Wilson's death in March 2014.
The lease included a strict non-relocation clause that included a $400 million penalty the team would be forced to pay if it considered moving before 2020.
Brandon also oversaw the Bills' eventual sale to the Pegulas, who completed their $1.4 billion purchase of the franchise in October 2014.
The Pegulas retained Brandon and elevated him to the role of managing partner. The Pegulas thought so highly of Brandon, the Sabres were added to his responsibilities after the team reached a mutual agreement to part ways with Ted Black in July 2015.
Brandon's resignation continues a large turnover of Bills executives who served under Wilson. Bruce Popko is the senior holdover and now becomes the top executive as chief operating officer of Buffalo-based Pegula Sports and Entertainment, which oversees the Pegulas' numerous holdings.
Brandon grew up in nearby Syracuse, New York, and began making his mark in Buffalo shortly after being hired by the Bills in 1997 to serve as the team's business development and marketing director.
He began by spearheading a campaign to transform them into a regional team by expanding the franchise's fan base to offset Buffalo's dropping population base.
That process began in 2000 Tyrone Crawford Jersey , when the team shifted training camp to Brandon's alma mater, St. John Fisher College in suburban Rochester, to capitalize on the community's corporate and larger population base.
Later, the Bills boosted their presence across southern Ontario by negotiating a deal to begin playing annual regular-season games in Toronto starting in 2008. The "Bills In Toronto" series lasted through 2013 before the deal was placed on hold the following year and then terminated by the Pegulas.
Toronto-based media giant, Rogers Communications, paid the Bills $78 million to essentially lease eight games (five regular season and three preseason) during the initial five-year agreement. The price was almost double what the Bills were projected to generate if those games were played at their home facility.
The series also spurred a large bump in season-ticket purchases from across the border. By 2015, the Bills estimated southern Ontario fans accounted for about 18 percent of their season-ticket sales, surpassing their support from Rochester.
Not everything succeeded under Brandon, who drew criticism for a number of decisions, including failing to build a winner during his two-year stint as the Bills GM when Wilson elected to promote from within the organization after Marv Levy stepped down following a two- Cheap Washington Redskins Jerseys
