Los Angeles Rams: 5 burning questions in 2018

3. Will Aaron Donald stay motivated?

Another offseason has come and gone without the Rams giving Donald the big money contract he deserves. The coaching staff will expect him to continue to lead this defense and play at a high level. It remains to be seen whether or not Donald can manage to do that while feeling undercompensated by the front office.

As we mentioned earlier, Donald is widely regarded as one of the top defensive players in football. His impact on the defensive side of the ball transcends what defensive tackles are typically able to accomplish. That’s part of what makes determining his compensation so difficult for the Rams. He plays defensive tackle, but affects the game more like a defensive end.

No matter how you classify him, Donald is the number one player on the Rams defense. If they hope to make a deep playoff run, he has to be dominant. The team cannot afford for his contract status to become a distraction.

That means McVay and the rest of the coaching staff will need to spend a lot of time pumping Donald up. Money isn’t the only thing that motivates professional athlete. In the absence of big dollars, the coaching staff needs to work hard to find other ways to keep Donald engaged in 2018.