Rams DT Aaron Donald To Miss Week 4

The Rams, who are are unlikely to see Myles Garrett return from IR when first eligible, will face the Eagles without their two future Hall of Fame pass rushers. Donald, who made his Rams debut in Week 2 and played against the Broncos on Sunday night, did not practice this week.

Garrett arriving via blockbuster trade from Cleveland brought rumblings Donald would return. He made his comeback official on cutdown day in August but did not make the trip to Australia for the Rams’ season opener. Donald, 35, has started both games he has played upon coming back; he has logged a 54% snap share as part of Chris Shula’s defense this season.

During Donald’s first Rams stint, he was one of the era’s most durable players. The 2014 first-round pick missed six games due to a high ankle sprain late during the 2022 season — one that brought a host of Rams injury struggles as the team struggled to a 5-12 finish after winning Super Bowl LVI — but otherwise was never absent for health reasons in that 10-year run.

Pro Football Focus ranks Donald 10th among interior D-linemen this season. Although the 11th-year vet does not have enough snaps to qualify as a regular in pass rush win rate, his 33% number would rank second at the position through two games (h/t WFAA’s Ed Werder). The Rams still have high-caliber D-linemen in Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske, while Byron Young is in place on the edge, but this is certainly not what the team envisioned its pass rush looking like this summer.

Garrett underwent arthroscopic knee surgery last month, doing so after playing against the 49ers in Australia but missing much of Rams camp with knee trouble. Although the NFL single-season sack king is eligible to return by Week 6, he will likely remain on IR for a few more weeks.