Report: Grady Jarrett asking for Aaron Donald money

Update: Dave Archer has since retracted his prior statement regarding Jarrett’s contract demands, making all of this fake news.

All has been too quiet on Grady Jarrett’s potential contract extension. Too quiet. Quiet is usually bad. And in this case, expensive. While the Falcons were publicly optimistic they would sign Jarrett before the start of the regular season, the season is nearly done and he’s finishing the last year of his rookie deal.

According to the very plugged-in Dave Archer, Jarrett’s agent is still asking for a lot of money. Aaron Donald money.

Archer on Grady Jarrett’s contract, “I just hope that the Falcons and Grady’s agent can find some common ground. They are not in the same ballpark right now. Grady’s agent is asking for Aaron Donald money.”

Jarrett is unquestionably a top defensive tackle in the league. Donald leads the league in sacks (with an amazing 16.5 sacks from a tackle) and is unquestionably the best defensive player in the entire league. Donald’s six-year, $135 million deal includes nearly $87 million guaranteed and an astounding $22.5 million per year. It is almost certainly Jarrett’s agent’s starting point, but worrisome that there reportedly no advances during the season.

The Falcons would certainly hit Jarrett with the franchise tag if the price doesn’t drop. The number is not yet set for 2019, but will certainly be north of this year’s $13.939 million tag. The Rams still have a quarterback on a rookie contract, offering Los Angeles significantly more maneuvering room around the cap. There’s almost no way the Falcons could set the market for Jarrett and not lose multiple other players.

We expect negotiations to heat up in the offseason after the Falcons threaten the franchise tag.