{"id":484876,"date":"2026-10-04T14:32:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T14:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/484876\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T14:32:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T14:32:14","slug":"aaron-donalds-absence-could-force-rams-defense-to-grow-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/484876\/","title":{"rendered":"Aaron Donald\u2019s absence could force Rams defense to grow up"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is no universe in which the Los Angeles Rams are a better team without Aaron Donald<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is, however, a perfectly reasonable one in which they eventually become a better defense<\/a> because they were forced to play without him this Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Donald will miss the Rams\u2019 Week 4 showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> at Lincoln Financial Field because of back soreness that surfaced following last week\u2019s loss to the Denver Broncos.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald looks on before a game against the Denver Broncos. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

The timing stinks for a 1-2 team that is now walking into Philadelphia<\/a> already missing multiple players from its rebuilt defense.<\/p>\n

But the Rams did not coax Donald out of retirement in late August because they desperately needed him to play on the first Sunday in October.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Donald and the Rams chose to reunite because they need him to still be playing when the calendar turns to January.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s why the Rams showing restraint this week is far more important than bravado.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to protect him from himself,\u201d said head coach Sean McVay on Friday. \u201cThis guy will do everything and that much more. He represents everything that\u2019s right about\u2026when we\u2019ve been doing things the way that we want to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aaron Donald answers questions after an NFL football game against the New York Giants in Inglewood. AP Photo\/Katie Chin<\/p>\n

Donald spent more than 2\u00bd years away from NFL football. He missed the season opener in Australia because his body wasn\u2019t ready, made his triumphant return against the New York Giants and then played in Denver. Three weeks into his comeback, his back is already sending up a flare.
Ignoring it because the Eagles are on the schedule would be football malpractice.<\/p>\n

McVay acknowledges that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think our job as coaches is [to] put our players in positions to have successful outcomes,\u201d McVay said. \u201cHe\u2019s as tough as it gets, just not feeling good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

McVay added that Donald would play if asked and \u201ccould probably go be productive,\u201d but called it \u201cirresponsible\u201d to put him in that position.<\/p>\n

This might shock you, but the smartest decision the Rams make all week is not allowing Donald to play on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Aaron Donald enters the field before an NFL football game against the New York Giants. AP Photo\/Caroline Brehman<\/p>\n

Donald spent a career treating pain like background noise. That mentality helped make him one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history, but it is precisely why the Rams have to be willing to save Donald from himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Donald not on the field on Sunday in Philadelphia means more snaps for Braden Fiske and Poona Ford. Those are valuable snaps to get them more work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before Donald parachuted back into Los Angeles, this was their defensive line. Fiske and Ford were integral pieces of the front the Rams relied upon for most of 2025, and Donald\u2019s return inevitably altered snaps, roles and rotations.<\/p>\n

Sunday gives those players some of that ownership back and a chance to get some meaningful snaps in October when they might be needed come December and January.<\/p>\n

Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams prepares to line up during the first half of a game against the New York Giants. Getty Images<\/p>\n

That\u2019s important because championship-caliber defenses aren\u2019t solo acts. Sure Myles Garrett and Donald can be the headliners, but the Rams cannot spend the next four months asking a 35-year-old who spent more than two years retired to play every game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fiske getting additional snaps is important. For staying healthy is too. Kobie Turner continuing to function as more than Donald\u2019s supporting cast will pay dividends at the end of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And if the Rams can walk off Lincoln Financial Field with a victory without Donald, then that\u2019s even more valuable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If that happens, it wouldn\u2019t only be the Rams second victory in their last eight games against the Eagles in the McVay era, it would protect the most decorated defensive player in franchise history without sacrificing a game in the standings. Their already established defensive linemen would get meaningful snaps against one of the NFL\u2019s most physical opponents. And perhaps most importantly, they would have proven to themselves that Donald can be a weapon deployed when needed, rather than a dependency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And the less toll he puts on that 35-year-old body as he works his way back into football shape again, the better.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Aaron Donald lines up to defend during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants. AP Photo\/Katie Chin<\/p>\n

Donald returned to Los Angeles to chase something bigger than another Pro Bowl selection or a few extra sacks. The Rams need his explosiveness when bodies are battered, offensive lines are worn down and every third down feels like it weighs 500 pounds.<\/p>\n

Those moments come in December, January, and February.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is no guarantee that Donald\u2019s back soreness disappears because he takes one Sunday off, of course. But after such a long layoff, every physical setback deserves attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Rams decided that instead of squeezing another game out of Donald now, they are betting on having more of him later.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If Fiske, Ford and the rest of this defensive front can hold the fort in Philadelphia, missing Donald for one Sunday might hurt a lot less than anyone imagined.<\/p>\n

And sometime this winter, the Rams might be awfully glad they didn\u2019t ask him to be Superman in October.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is no universe in which the Los Angeles Rams are a better team without Aaron Donald.\u00a0 There…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":484877,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[77645,7,48,52,51,47,50,49,6446,752,127],"class_list":["post-484876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-aaron-donald","tag-california","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-los-angeles-rams","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/484877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}