After trading for Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie in the NFL offseason, the Los Angeles Rams established themselves as the clear-cut Super Bowl favorites. As if they weren't scary enough, it was recently revealed that the Rams were signing Aaron Donald out of retirement, adding him to what should already be an absurd defensive unit.
Now, the best defensive player of his generation will be rushing opposing quarterbacks opposite Garrett, the current best player of his generation, on a Rams team that also includes reigning MVP Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. The question NFL fans are asking before the Rams begin their season against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia is whether Donald will play despite only signing with the Rams not even two weeks ago. Let's dive into the Rams injury report.
Aaron Donald ruled out for Week 1 matchup vs. 49ers
Even Aaron Donald, an individual in as good of shape as just about anybody, needs more time to ramp up, as he was ruled out of playing in Australia by head coach Sean McVay on Tuesday. As for when Donald will be ready to play, that's very much up in the air.
"I think he'll be ready to go sooner rather than later, but we're making a decision that we think is best for him and for our team," McVay said. "... It will add value when he's ready to go, but being two years off retirement, he's attacked this the right way, but it would have been a really quick turnaround."
This decision makes a lot of sense, as asking Donald to fly across the world to play in a game that counts less than two weeks after signing a contract to return from two years on the sidelines is a lot to ask. Giving Donald this game off gives him an extra week and a half to prepare for the Rams' Week 2 clash on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants, rather than having him risk injury in the very first week of the regular season.
Rams Week 1 inactives with Aaron Donald ruled out
Player | Position | Status |
|---|---|---|
Aaron Donald | EDGE | OUT |
CJ Daniels | WR | INACTIVE |
Tutu Atwell | WR | INACTIVE |
Bill Murray | OL | INACTIVE |
Max Klare | TE | INACTIVE |
TY SIMPSON | QB | EMERGENCY QB |
Being without Donald stings, but the rest of the injury report is fairly favorable for the Rams heading into a crucial Week 1 contest. Six other players are on the injury report, but five of them practiced fully on Wednesday and three of them, including standout linebacker Byron Young, are on the report for rest purposes.
There're a couple of injuries worth paying attention to, though, most notably Myles Garrett dealing with a knee injury. Now, he was a full practice participant on Wednesday, giving every reason to believe he'll be able to play on Thursday, but will the knee impact him during the game? Rams fans sure hope not, hoping to see why their team traded so much to acquire him over the summer.
The other one is Jaylen Watson dealing with a toe injury that forced the Rams to list him as a limited participant in Wednesday's practice. Donald, Garrett and McDuffie have stolen most of the headlines, but Watson, another offseason addition, is supposed to start alongside McDuffie at corner. If the Rams are without him, which is a possibility, that could be more problematic than their fans might want to let on.
Add us as a preferred source on Google