This time last year, fans and analysts were talking about the Los Angeles Rams potentially repeating as Super Bowl champions. On paper, they looked like they’d be contenders in the NFC again, but everything fell apart midway through the season with starter after starter going down with injury.
Heading into the 2023 season, no one is putting the Rams up there among the favorites in the conference. It’s a very different feeling in Los Angeles following a disastrous 5-12 season, but Aaron Donald doesn’t mind flying under the radar.
He’s embracing the Rams’ role as underdogs, not feeling much external pressure from those high expectations.
“I kinda like it. It’s like starting all over again from scratch,” Donald said this week. “We ain’t the team that’s talked about. It’s kind of like the little underdogs. You just get to work and just play. You ain’t got to worry about too much other stuff. You just get to play at a high level and just fly around and then wherever the chips may fall. Obviously, the media and everything will be talking how they want to talk. As long as we do our job and do what we need to do, we’re going to be in good position and be the type of team we want to be.”
The Rams are used to being the talk of the league, from their five straight winning seasons to the blockbuster trades they pull off seemingly every year. That was the case last year following their Super Bowl win, as well as in 2019 after they reached the big game for the first time under Sean McVay.
The team has taken a step back this year, both talent-wise and in its aggressive approach to building out the roster. It’s a little bit of a remodel, as Les Snead has called it, in order to get the team’s financial situation in better shape with the salary cap.
