The Los Angeles Rams have announced that Aaron Donald will be inactive for Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos as he’ll miss his fourth consecutive game due to an ankle injury. Besides missing Sunday’s showdown with the Broncos, Sean McVay iterated that it’s unlikely that Donald will be active again this season.
Buy Rams TicketsRams HC Sean McVay said DL Aaron Donald (ankle) is out for Sunday's game vs. Broncos.
McVay also said "probably not" when asked if Donald will play again this season.
— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) December 23, 2022
Donald suffered a high-ankle sprain back in Week 12 versus the Kansas City Chiefs. The Rams left the door open for him to potentially return, but with them being eliminated from playoff contention, there’s no reason for them to risk putting him back on the field.
The past four games have been the first four games of Donald’s career that he missed due to an injury. The All-Pro interior defender will likely finish with 49 combined tackles, 10 tackles for loss, a career-low five sacks, and a forced fumble in 11 starts this season.
Despite missing the last four games, Donald was voted to his ninth straight Pro Bowl to begin his career. Even though the sack numbers weren’t astronomical, he continued to wreak havoc in the interior this season.
After rumors of Donald potentially retiring surfaced last offseason before he signed a lucrative extension, those rumors will likely resurface this upcoming offseason as he’ll be turning 32 years old in May. While retirement is certainly an option for the seven-time All-Pro, he proved he’s still arguably the best defensive player in the NFL when he’s on the field in 2021.
