WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – A 2-4 overall record and the deep defensive line group being hit hard by injuries was probably not the start to the season Rams defensive end Aaron Donald envisioned when he came out of retirement and rejoined the team on Aug. 30.
And as injuries hit the defensive line this week with Poona Ford and Kobie Turner landing on Injured Reserve, Donald's leadership and impact when he's on the field become even more important heading into Sunday's game against the Raiders and the rest of the season.
"We got to keep playing ball, find a way to win, be more consistent," Donald said. "I know on defense, eliminate explosive plays, so I think we got to play better. We got to play better as a team. We got to find ways to finish games. So we just got to just do our job."
Donald has always been a leader by example, but has been known to use his voice when the situation requires it. Look no further than when he implored the Rams' defense to 'bow up' during their Super Bowl LVI-winning playoff run.
"Guys kind of step up, speak a little bit more, but ain't nothing changing," Donald said. "Same mindset, you go out there with the same theme, preach the same stuff. Probably my words are a little bit different than what (defensive end) Kobie (Turner) and them guys were saying. But still the same goal."
Though the circumstances are challenging, there is one silver lining: Donald beginning to look like the player many have been accustomed to watching.
Over the last two weeks, Donald has stacked his two highest single-game pressure rates at 13% against Arizona and 10.5% against Buffalo.
Would the injury circumstances change the number of snaps Donald is currently playing?
"That's kind of hard to say," defensive coordinator Chris Shula said. "I think it definitely depends on kind of the flow of the game, a lot of things like that. We have a general snap count that he's always going to have going into the game. I don't think we would go crazily past that, but it's going to be hard if it's a tight game and he's at that number, just kind of like one of those pitchers in the ninth inning, you're probably going to leave him in for a few extra pitches."
Donald is content with going with the flow of the game, but ultimately – like always in his career – doing whatever it takes to win.
"I'm just going to be out there playing. However that rotation is going to be, it's going to be," Donald said. "We never got to set the snaps, we just go as the game goes, however that is. If it's 30 plays, 40 plays, 50 plays, 60 plays, that's what it's going to be."
