Los Angles Rams DT Donald Unlikely to Play Again This Season

As if it wasn't obvious already, the 4-10 Los Angeles Rams are throwing in the towel on the 2022 regular season. Head coach Sean McVay revealed at a Friday press conference that defensive tackle Aaron Donald will miss the team's Week 16 matchup with the Denver Broncos and was unlikely to return this season.

Rams ruled out DT Aaron Donald for Sunday’s game vs. Denver, and HC Sean McVay said it’s unlikely he will play again this season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 23, 2022

Donald has been unavailable since suffering an ankle injury in the Rams' Week 12 26-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He appeared in 11 games this season, tallying five sacks and earning his ninth consecutive Pro Bowl.

Donald joins wide receiver Cooper Kupp and quarterback Matthew Stafford as key contributors from last year's Super Bowl-winning squad who have found themselves on the shelf for huge portions of the season. Stafford and Kupp have missed five games a piece this year and aren't expected back this year.

Already eliminated from the playoffs, the Rams are right to give up on this season and reset for next year. Unfortunately for them, they'll have few reasons for optimism: the Rams traded away their 2023 first-round pick to acquire Stafford, and they find themselves only $2.6 million under the 2023 projected cap of $225 million. Unless they can nail the middle portion of the draft or find some serious bargains in free agency, they'll struggle to drastically improve this year's roster.