Aaron Donald, Rams embrace new role as NFL underdogs

Eric Williams

NFC West Writer

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Aaron Donald has nothing left to prove as an NFL player.

A three-time Defensive Player of the Year and seven-time All-Pro, Donald finally earned his first Super Bowl ring two seasons ago when the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium — a storybook ending to a magical season.

Donald considered retirement after Super Bowl LVI but instead signed a restructured new deal worth $95 million over three years.

What ensued in 2022 was Donald’s worst season in his nine-year NFL career. He played a career-low 11 games because of a season-ending high-ankle sprain, finishing with a career-low five sacks and 48 combined tackles. It was the first time Donald missed time due to injury in his pro career.

The Rams finished 5-12 in a nightmare defense of their title, the worst record by a defending Super Bowl champion in league history.

However, speaking to reporters for the first time since last year’s disastrous season, an upbeat Donald said he’s 100 percent healthy after rehabilitation from surgery to fix his leg. The dominant defensive tackle, who turns 32 later this month, said he did not consider retirement this offseason.

“Not really, honestly,” Donald said. “You never want to end your career how it was last year, so it never really crossed my mind. I was just trying to do everything I can to get myself healthy.”

Donald, head coach Sean McVay and the Rams find themselves in the unfamiliar position of NFL underdogs heading into the 2023 season. Due to salary cap constraints, L.A. experienced a mass exodus of talented veteran players this offseason. The Rams traded cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins, linebacker Bobby Wagner returned to the Seattle Seahawks and L.A. released last year’s leading sack guy in edge rusher Leonard Floyd.

But Donald remains one of the best defensive players in the game. Since entering the league as the No. 13 overall selection in the 2014 draft, Donald is tops in sacks (103), quarterback hits (237) and tackles for loss (160). His 103 career sacks rank fifth among active NFL players.

“We sat down and had a conversation with Aaron Donald earlier,” Rams GM Les Snead told reporters during the draft. “And we were talking about, ‘Hey, this is kind of the blueprint. We might have to play with some younger players, less experienced players on defense.’ And you know what was awesome? He looked you in the eye and said, ‘Here’s the deal: I’m good, just make sure they care.’ And that’s always resonated with me.”

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The Rams will look to foundational players for leadership in linebacker Ernest Jones, safety Jordan Fuller and Donald, along with a bunch of young players in L.A.’s roster reshuffle. The team selected a league-high 14 players in this year’s draft.

“As long as they got the mindset to work and they got the right mindset to just go out there and do what they need to do at a high level … I can work with that,” Donald said. “I want a bunch of guys that are hungry. It doesn’t matter if they haven’t played any snaps.”

Because of L.A.’s overhaul, the consensus among the major sportsbooks is that the Rams will win just 7.5 games in the upcoming season. But Donald says he’s up to the challenge of the team’s roster reset.

“I kind of like it,” Donald said. “It’s like starting all over again from scratch. We ain’t the team that’s talked about. It’s kind of like the little underdogs. You just get to work and just play. You ain’t got to worry about too much other stuff. You just get to play at a high level and just fly around and then wherever the chips may fall.

“Obviously, the media and everything will be talking how they want to talk. As long as we do our job and do what we need to do, we are going to be in good position and be the type of team we want to be.”

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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