Rams' Brockers: Holdout is 'killing' Aaron Donald

Aaron Donald is making a business decision by staying away from Los Angeles Rams training camp to leverage a new contract, but that doesn't mean it was an easy choice for the star defensive tackle.

"Oh yeah, it's killing him right now," teammate Michael Brockers said Sunday, according to Rich Hammond of The Los Angeles Daily News. "I know it is. He cannot wait until this contract thing is over. ... You text him just to check in, and he lets us know that he's still working and stuff like that. We know he's not letting off in any way. We know he's going to come back in shape and be the same Aaron he was before."

Rams general manager Les Snead admitted in March that Donald "deserves a raise" after producing back-to-back All-Pro seasons, but there appears to have been little progress in negotiations since.

Donald's rapid ascension to the top tier of defenders means L.A. will likely have to make him one of the - if not the - highest-paid defensive players in the league.

And while the Rams' players are missing Donald's presence, they are backing his decision to hold out.

"It's hard to not do that when a guy has put in so much work," Brockers said. "He has worked so hard and been tremendous for this team. It's hard not to want that for him. So yeah, we're right with him and we support him. We're just waiting for him to get back."