Rams Mailbag: How Would an Aaron Donald Return Impact the Final 53?

The Los Angeles Rams are getting set to play their final game of the preseason on Thursday against the Los Angeles Chargers. With the preseason coming to a close, it seemed like a good time for another mailbag. As always, the questions are greatly appreciated. Let’s get into it!

Who gets cut when Aaron Donald is added to the roster? - @TheGodsPunch

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Aaron Donald make his decision here within the next week. The Rams are getting ready for Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers, and Donald has been working out to try and get into football shape. If Donald comes back, Week 1 or Week 2 seems like a realistic timeline. However, the Rams will have plans either way.

“Our thought process has been, 'Let's look at a 53 with him and a 53 not including him, and what does that look like?” said head coach Sean McVay on Tuesday. “There are some different guys that you have some potential roster exemptions that we've talked about. All those things are things that we think about. Whenever a decision is made, if that is the direction that he goes where he wants to play, then we have plans accordingly.”

While it’s hard to know exactly what the Rams would do, you would think they would need to make a cut on the defensive line. In that case, Ty Hamilton could potentially be cut. If Tim Keenan III makes the roster, he would be a potential cut candidate as well.

Does Wesley Bailey make the final 53? - @PerennialPundit

Following Wesley Bailey’s performance against the New Orleans Saints, it’s going to be very difficult for the Rams to keep him off of the 53-man roster. Bailey had 10 pressures, which was twice as many as any other player. He’s also just the fifth player since 2023 to have 10 pressures in a preseason game. The other four are Aidan Hutchinson, Micah Parsons, Trey Hendrickson, and Jonathan Cooper.

Coming into the offseason, the 53-man roster looked like a long shot for Bailey despite his talent. The Rams have four players at that position that they can trust in a rotation. However, Bailey’s level of play in the preseason has made him very difficult to ignore. The Rams will need to make a difficult decision at another position, but they’ll need to find a way to keep Bailey.

Is there any chance the Rams grab someone from another team’s cut list?

Teams will have to make their roster cuts and get down to 53 by Sunday. When players get cut, other teams have the opportunity to claim them off the waiver wire. If that player clears waivers, the team that cut that player can put them on the practice squad.

Following roster cutdowns, I will put out a list of players from every team that the Rams should consider adding. With that said, I would be surprised if the Rams do claim anybody. This is a deep roster, and the Rams will try to do what they can to get the players that they cut back on the practice squad. It’s possible that the Rams get a few players poached, but that’s also a testament to the strength of the roster.

Has the preseason proved that the roster on this team is deep and talented? - @DaliRama

It’s hard to put a lot of stock in the preseason, especially when it comes to roster depth. The Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns each went undefeated in the preseason before going 0-16. At the end of the day, it’s third- and fourth-string players competing against each other. Many of them won’t be on a roster by the start of the regular season.

However, that’s not to discount the Rams’ depth and what they’ve done. Cam Lampkin has shown that he can be a depth piece and that he’s developed nicely on the practice squad. Still, while the offensive line has performed well, it’s also not as if they’ve faced any premier pass rushers. I think this is a case where multiple things can be true. The Rams have more depth than initially thought. At the same time, that shouldn’t be overvalued because of how they’ve played during the preseason.

Concerned about offensive line depth. Your thoughts? - @TJW13

I do think it’s fair to be concerned about the offensive line depth, especially with some of the injuries that the Rams have had. Justin Dedich only just passed his physical after injuring his hand in July. Keagen Trost is also out with a strained hamstring.

It’s the case for any team, but especially the Rams, if the offensive line gets injured, things can begin to spiral. Looking at the 2023 and 2024 seasons, the Rams had injuries to the offensive line to start the season, and they got off to slow starts. In last year’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons, they were without Alaric Jackson.

If the Rams have to get by for a game or two, they can manage. However, where things get interesting is if Jackson gets suspended for an extended period at left tackle. With Trost injured, the starting left tackle in that scenario would be Davis Quessenberry. It’s hard to have confidence in that.

What changes will the Rams make on special teams this year? - @TheMikay

The addition of Bubba Ventrone to the coaching staff should be a significant help. Ventrone is an experienced special teams coach who has been well respected around the league for quite some time. McVay could have just kept Ben Kotwica, who took over for Chase Blackburn when he was fired. Instead, he hired Ventrone and let him bring in his own assistant.

Additionally, the Rams signed Joe Cardona and Grant Stuard to be special teams contributors. Both of those players are Ventrone guys and will be able to help implement what he wants to do. Stuard will be an upgrade over Troy Reeder, and Cardona will add some stability as the team’s long snapper. I’m cautiously optimistic about the Rams’ special teams unit this season.

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