Training camp looked a lot different for every team in the NFL this year. No fans, no traveling, no joint practices and no preseason games. The coronavirus pandemic forced the NFL to shorten the camp schedule, too, limiting padded practices to only 14 sessions in three weeks.
It was an especially difficult situation for rookies and unproven players fighting to make the 53-man roster, but for stars and veterans, the change wasn’t all that bad.
Aaron Donald, for one, would love if the Rams kept this condensed camp schedule next year, too.
“It was great. I wish we could do training camp like this every year. It was fine,” Donald told reporters Thursday. “I liked how the schedule where we got great work, were in and out. I felt like we were able to do certain things to keep our bodies fresh and keep ourselves healthy. But, at the same time, we got great work. I think that’s what it’s about, getting great work, you’re in and out and at the same time to keep yourself fresh, keep yourself ready. So, I think overall as a team, I feel like we are where we need to be, obviously we’ve got a lot of room for improvement, always, never be satisfied. But right now, if we had a game tomorrow, I think we’d be ready.”
Donald is familiar with a lighter workload heading into the season. He skipped training camp in 2017 and 2018 during his contract holdout and went on to win Defensive Player of the Year both times. He hasn’t played a preseason game since 2016 and it hasn’t impacted him in the least bit.
It’s hardly surprising to hear him say he’d prefer a shortened camp schedule with no preseason games, and he’d like to sleep in his own bed, too. He didn’t miss traveling to UC Irvine and staying in dorms for camp as the Rams have in recent years.
“No, I liked staying in my house, sleeping in my own bed, coming to work and getting in and out. If we keep that same schedule. I’m good with that,” he said.
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