Sean McVay has addressed the Aaron Donald-sized hole missing from the Los Angeles Rams’ lineup heading into their season opener against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Rams head coach announced Tuesday that Donald would not be available for the Week 1 contest in Melbourne. McVay revealed the All-Pro pass rusher would not even make the trip to Australia to watch the contest from the sidelines.
Despite Donald’s absence, McVay told reporters that fans can expect the veteran defensive tackle to don a horned helmet again “sooner rather than later.”
“He’s doing a great job,” McVay said, via ESPN’s Sarah Barshop. “I think he’ll be ready to go sooner rather than later, but we’re making a decision that we think is best for him and for our team. … He’s attacked this the right way, but it would have been a really quick turnaround.”
While Donald was linked to an NFL return for months, his comeback was only confirmed on August 30. Donald has remained in incredible shape, but the team understandably wants to take a cautious approach with the 35-year-old franchise icon. The team thought better of having Donald spend at least 30 hours on a plane over the span of a few days.
McVay added that he didn’t want to “put any sort of expectations” on Donald’s looming return by giving a firm date. He also indicated that Donald would have a sizable role when ready to take the field again.
Donald won’t be gracing any fields down under for the NFL’s first-ever game in Australia. But he’ll be putting pressure on opposing offensive lines stateside soon enough.
