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Aaron Donald, Matthew Stafford contracts are Rams’ ‘high priority’

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Rams general manager Les Snead wound down after winning the Super Bowl by taking a tropical vacation with his family. Coach Sean McVay celebrated on a yacht trip to Cabo San Lucas with his fiancee.

They could do without a week in Indianapolis.

That’s no knock on the Midwest’s winter climate, just a calculation that the champions’ brain trust could knock more items off the early offseason to-do list by staying in L.A. and letting members of the staff handle this week’s NFL scouting combine in Indy.

It’s a long to-do list, headed by working on new contracts for defensive tackle Aaron Donald and quarterback Matthew Stafford, setting priorities for the free agency period that begins on March 14 and the draft on April 28-30, and filling out the coaching staff.

McVay settled one gnawing issue last week when he made it known he’s committed to coaching the Rams in 2022 despite TV networks’ interest in making him a very rich broadcaster.

“Flattered by some of the opportunities and interest,” McVay said on Wednesday, when he and Snead held their first full virtual press conferences since the Rams’ 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.

“That is something that way down the line I think I would be interested in, some of the media things. But my heart is in coaching with these players, with these coaches, with this ownership group.”

McVay said he never doubted his desire to keep coaching, but indicated he felt an obligation to the Rams management that “took a chance on me” at age 30 in 2017 and the players and coaches with whom he has built relationships.

“As soon as you make that decision to move forward, I think the clarity and the peace that you have, you know this is exactly what I wanted to do,” McVay said.

Next, McVay and Snead must make sure Donald is committed to leading the defense again as the Rams try to become the first team to win consecutive Super Bowls since the 2003-04 New England Patriots.

Donald, 30, who added a Super Bowl victory to his three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards, has hinted he could retire unless the Rams keep the star-studded roster together by re-signing free-agent linebacker Von Miller and receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

Although Snead said Donald’s status is “not a concern right now for us,” neither he nor McVay made it sound certain.

“I know Aaron’s working through some things with his family,” McVay said. “He’s earned the right to be able to take a little bit of an exhale and enjoy what he’s accomplished.

“I think once he digests it all, I’m going to do everything in my power to make it enticing for him to want to come back.”

Snead said the Rams are “in discussions with Aaron.” Donald has three years left on a six-year, $135 million contract. His average salary is the 23rd highest in the NFL.

The same is or will be true with Stafford, who would otherwise be entering the final season of a five-year, $135 million contract after leading the Rams on three fourth-quarter, game-winning drives in the postseason.

McVay said it’s “an incredibly high priority” for the Rams, who normally announce extensions at the end of training camp, to get deals done with Donald and Stafford.

Using extensions for such big-money players to shift payments from one season to another could help the Rams in their annual battle with the NFL salary cap, which finds them $21.6 million in the red, according to overthecap.com.

That, in turn, would help with what Snead called “our effort to bring as many of this year’s players back as possible, because they achieved something special.”

More likely than Donald to retire is 40-year-old left tackle Andrew Whitworth, one of several potential departures from an offensive line that has free agents in right guard Austin Corbett, center Brian Allen and key backup Joe Noteboom.

“We’ve got a pretty good feel for the direction he wants to move, but it’s not official yet,” Snead said of Whitworth, who has sent mixed signals publicly.

Losing one or more of those offensive linemen could make the line an obvious priority in the draft, where the Rams currently hold no first- or second-round picks but have eight in the third through eighth rounds.

Another complication for the Rams’ offseason planning is Beckham. He enters free agency after tearing an ACL in the first half of the Super Bowl. But Snead wasn’t ruling out re-signing the receiver who was acquired midseason in 2021.

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“We’d definitely like Odell to be a part,” Snead said. “You know he might miss the first half of the season or something like that. So the negative of that is that’s just a tough, unlucky break. The positive is you might get someone with very fresh legs for the stretch run, similar to how we did it this year.”

McVay said he is close to completing his coaching staff following the departures of offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, Wes Phillips and Chris O’Hara to the Minnesota Vikings and Ejiro Evero, Marcus Dixon and Dwayne Stukes to the Denver Broncos.

McVay announced the hirings of six assistants, some already reported: Liam Coen as offensive coordinator, Greg Olson and Jake Peetz on offense, Chris Beake and Skyler Jones on defense, and Jeremy Springer on special teams.

Thomas Brown will move from running backs coach to tight ends coach while keeping his assistant head coach title, and is leading the search for a new running backs coach, McVay said.

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