Football can be a cruel reminder of how quickly life moves on after loss. For 10 years, Aaron Donald was the undeterred force that commanded the Rams’ defense. Now less than seven months removed from his retirement, the Rams are set to begin their season without Donald for the first time in the Sean McVay era.
It has been a daunting task to replace not only the player that Donald was but also his production and his influence on the locker room. When asked about life without Donald and what he expects from the defensive line entering 2024, this is what McVay had to say Wednesday.
“I want them to play the way that they’re capable of – the way that they’ve played throughout the offseason, through training camp,” McVay said. “I want them to be able to play within themselves. Go enjoy it. I want them to have a great week of preparation so that they can go play with a quieted mind and cut it loose. I really love this group that we’ve been around. We’ve said it over and over, and you know this too. You’re not ever replacing an Aaron Donald and that’s not what we’re asking of our guys. I want Kobie Turner to be Kobie Turner. I want Bobby Brown to be Bobby Brown. Braden Fiske to be Braden Fiske. That’s really what we’re looking for. All the guys around him, this is about ‘eleven as one.'”
McVay is grateful to not only have coached Donald, but for him to have helped younger defensive linemen on the roster last season and in years past.
“We were so fortunate and blessed to have such a special player in Aaron Donald be around,” he continued. “What I thought was cool is he set a great example for guys that saw him play. I can use him as stories all the time. He was around last week. I just saw him the other day. It’s pretty special that he’s earned the right to be able to be so content, complete, and full to use his words. He’s coaching his son’s football team, loving that. His three-year-old son Aaric had a great birthday at their house the other day. I’m really happy for Aaron. I do miss him but I’m excited about the opportunity for these guys to go do their thing and start to etch their names in this thing.”
The Rams debut their new defensive line against one of the best offenses in the NFL this Sunday against Detroit.