Aaron Donald won’t be on the field for the first of two days of joint practices between the Rams and Raiders. After he wasn’t spotted during individual drills, a team spokesperson told reporters that the Rams are giving Donald a rest day, holding him out of practice with Las Vegas to start the week.
That’s a somewhat surprising and disappointing decision by Los Angeles, especially given the value Sean McVay puts into these joint practices.
Donald was at the center of last year’s brawl with the Bengals, so maybe the Rams want to give him one of the two days off so tempers don’t come to a boil too quickly. Or perhaps with how heated these practices can get, they just want to keep him out of harm’s way in case things get chippy.
Regardless, Donald won’t be practicing against the Raiders on Wednesday, but he should be back out there Thursday afternoon.
Rams DT Aaron Donald has a rest day today, per team spokesperson.
— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) August 16, 2023
