Can the Rams get Aaron Donald ready for Week 1?
Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald has returned to practice, raising questions about his readiness for the Week 1 game against the 49ers in Australia. Analysts are comparing his current situation to a similar 2018 holdout to estimate his potential snap count.
Why it matters
Aaron Donald is a key defensive player, and his availability directly impacts the Rams' defensive strategy and performance for the start of the NFL season.
Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald returned to the team on August 30. They play the 49ers in Australia on September 10.
The most immediate question is whether he’ll play and, if so, the number of snaps he’ll take.
Several weeks ago, it was believed that the target for Donald would be 30 to 40 snaps. That was based on Donald returning in time to have a sufficient ramp-up process for the first game.
While it took a little longer than originally expected, there’s an apples-to-apples comparison. In 2018, Donald held out until August 31. And the Rams played their first game on Monday, September 10, against the Raiders.
In that game, the Rams had 70 defensive snaps. Donald participated in 62 of them.
Although Donald is eight years older ago than he was in 2018 (as we all are), 30-40 doesn’t seem ridiculous.
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