A little over a week remains until Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Los Angeles take the field for their first game of the 2022 season against the Bills.
Following Wednesday’s practice, Donald made it clear that his focus is on the season opener and not on the brawl that took place during the team’s joint training camp practice with the Bengals. Nearly a week ago, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year engaged in a scrap in which he ended up swinging helmets at some of the Bengals players.
When asked if things were smoothed out from that situation, Donald said the situation was just “practice” and said he would rather focus his attention on his first opponent of the season.
“It was just a practice,” Donald said. “It was football. I don't really wanna go back to nothing negative that happened and talk about something that happened in a practice. My main focus is Buffalo.”
Donald also added that he talked with Rams coach Sean McVay about the situation and that two were on the same page. When the brawl broke out initially, several professionals around the NFL community felt Donald should have received a suspension for his actions.
Some professionals such NFL Network’s Judy Battista referenced the altercation involving Browns defensive end Myles Garrett in 2019 in which he received an indefinite suspension for swinging a helmet at an opponent during a game. However, Garrett’s situation took place during a game while Donald’s happened during a preseason practice.
The Rams are responsible for overseeing Donald's conduct during any sort of practice, and because the NFL does not keep watch on any practices, it is highly unlikely that the league would hand down any sort of punishment to Donald.
The Rams will face the Bills on Sept. 8 to begin the new season, and Donald will look to put any lingering talk of the offseason altercation behind him then.
