What Aaron Donald’s Week 1 Absence Means for the Rams Defense

The Los Angeles Rams will officially be without Aaron Donald in Thursday Night’s Opener against the San Francisco 49ers. Rams head coach Sean McVay announced on Tuesday that Donald would not be making the trip to Australia.

While the Rams will be disappointed to not have Donald available, they are playing the long game and want to ensure he is in game shape before he takes the field. The Rams have been preparing without Donald throughout much of the summer, which won’t change how they approach Thursday’s game against the 49ers. This is also a team that’s uniquely built to manage without Donald.

“I think what's cool is you have such confidence in the group that we do have with Kobie, with Fiske, with Poona Ford, with Tyler Davis,” said McVay. “It'll add value when he's ready to go, but being two years off retirement, he's attacked this the right way.”

The Rams do have the depth to manage without Donald against the 49ers. Donald would have certainly added a boost, but the Rams had been preparing all offseason to be without him. It wasn’t until they traded for Myles Garrett that Donald's return became a possibility. Even then, Donald didn’t make it official until two weeks ago.

Without Donald, the Rams will simply continue as is. Again, it’s how they’ve been preparing and practicing all summer. Donald didn’t start practicing with the team until last week. He took part in his first 11-on-11s on Monday. Following Donald announcing his return, there have always been questions about whether he would be ready. Him playing against the 49ers in Australia was never a guarantee.

“That’s how we've been operating as is, and guys have done an excellent job of being able to do some really cool stuff in the meantime,” said McVay the day after Donald returned. McVay added last Friday, “I have a lot of confidence in the other guys that'll be ready to step up if that's the case, that have really gotten all the reps anyways.”

Donald playing against the 49ers likely would have been more of a change for the defense than his absence. The defensive line will look much like it did last season, with Turner, Ford, and Fiske as the primary starters and Davis and Hamilton rotating in on obvious running downs. With Donald out, it may mean more playing time for Fiske, who has been hoping to bounce back after a sophomore slump.

The biggest change on defense will be the debut of edge rusher Myles Garrett. While it would be fun to see how the Rams plan to use Garrett and Donald together, that will have to wait at least a week. Still, the Rams will be excited to get Garrett on the field.

“He's looked great,” said McVay. “His impact has been tremendous, his overall vibe, what kind of teammate he's been. I'm looking forward to getting him out there with the guys and being a great factor for us.”

The Rams opened as 3.5-point favorites before it was announced that Donald wouldn’t play, and the line shouldn’t change too much, if at all, without him. Even if Donald had traveled to Australia, he likely would have had a limited role anyway. The Rams will certainly be excited for Donald’s eventual return, but they’ll continue to wait until the time is right.

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