Aaron Donald has missed the last three games with a high ankle sprain, an injury that often sidelines players for at least a month. The Rams are out of playoff contention and have just three games left, so it seems unlikely that Donald will suit up again in what’s considered a lost season.
Sean McVay won’t rule out his return, however. McVay said Tuesday that the Rams are taking it week by week with Donald, and that he has yet to be cleared by the training staff to return. The Rams haven’t placed Donald on injured reserve in hopes that he could play again this season, despite their 4-10 record.
“That’s kind of been what we’ve remained true. Obviously, Aaron’s not on IR, but we are taking it a week at a time, and a lot of that entails, OK, what kind of progress is he making? Where is he at with that progress on the ankle? How’s he feeling? He’s a guy, similar to those other two you mentioned (Stafford and Kupp), they’re always going to want to compete and want to be out there and play. But none of those guys have been medically cleared. Obviously, it’s a little bit different because Cooper and Matthew are truly on IR, but Aaron hasn’t been cleared yet.”
Injuries have taken a toll on this roster, with a number of players being placed on injured reserve, many of whom won’t play again this season. McVay said this isn’t like the preseason where healthy players will sit out, so if they’re able to play, they will.
“Yeah, everybody’s got to play. If they’re able to play, they’ve got to be able to play,” McVay said. “We don’t have the luxury of being able to take a different approach just based on the amount of injuries that we have. This is different than the preseason to me. If guys are healthy and able to go then we’re going to continue to try to do everything we can to go out there and pour everything into these guys and let them go compete to the best of their ability and let the chips fall where they may. But we don’t really have the luxury of being able to pick and choose who plays and who doesn’t just based on the availability of the bodies we have.”
The Rams have three games left against the Broncos, Chargers and Seahawks. They could play spoiler for the Chargers and Seahawks, but Sunday’s game against Denver doesn’t mean anything for either team.
Very simply, it may not be risking further injury to a cornerstone player just to have him suit up in three meaningless games.
