LOS ANGELES (AP) — Aaron Donald's back is feeling much better after a week of rest and treatment, and he plans to play for the Rams against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night after he missed Los Angeles' previous game.
His dream pairing with Myles Garrett still does not appear to be in the Rams' immediate future, however.
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Donald's first injury setback during his comeback from a 2 1/2-year retirement does not appear to be serious, the 10-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle said Friday after he went through a full practice at the Rams' training complex with no setbacks.
“I feel a lot better than what I was, so that's good,” Donald said. “Just followed the regimen (from the Rams' training staff) to get me back right where I need to be. Whatever they had me doing, I did, and I feel great right now.”
The 35-year-old star's absence from the Rams' comeback victory at Philadelphia underlined the difficulty of Donald's attempt to pull off this extraordinary comeback after such a lengthy layoff from football. Donald skipped all of last week's practices in an attempt to get his back ready to face the Eagles, but the Rams ultimately decided not to push things this early in the season.
A week later, Donald thinks he's ready to go again when Josh Allen and the Bills visit SoFi Stadium.
“I do feel good,” Donald said. “I don't feel like my wind is off. I don't feel like I'm out there exhausted. I think the way we're able to rotate helped me a lot, but I do feel good. Just got to keep going, try to be more productive, do what I need to do.”
Donald had four tackles and a quarterback hit while playing just over 50% of the snaps in the first two games of his comeback. Los Angeles has a fairly deep rotation on its interior defensive line, allowing every member to play at close to full speed.
But while Donald is feeling better, the Rams (2-2) are headed into the middle of October without yet getting to see Donald and Garrett on their defensive line together.
Garrett played poorly in his season-opening Rams debut in Australia before undergoing knee surgery. Coach Sean McVay said Thursday that the team isn't sure whether its high-priced trade acquisition will be ready to return to practice when his minimum four weeks on injured reserve are up next week.
“I know that the rehab is progressing well,” McVay said of Garrett while lamenting that he didn't have more concrete information on the superstar's current condition. “He’s looked good in the meetings.”
Donald thinks the Rams still have a defense good enough to contend with Allen even without Garrett. Then again, Donald was comfortably on his couch in retirement when Allen put up a jaw-dropping performance in the Bills' most recent trip to SoFi.
Allen became the first player in NFL history to record three passing TDs and three rushing TDs in the same game while he shredded the Rams' defense in December 2024, but Matthew Stafford and the Rams' offense outlasted him for a 44-42 victory in a game featuring 902 combined yards of offense.
Donald, a Pittsburgh native from a family of Steelers fans, gave high praise to Allen through comparison.
“He's a different type of player,” Donald said. “I call him like a futuristic Big Ben (Roethlisberger). More athletic, hard to tackle, a lot faster, able to move a lot different. He can hurt you in a lot of different ways. He's not easy to take down, and he's a playmaker.”
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