It isn’t every day a future Hall of Famer retires, but that is what happened to the Los Angeles Rams this offseason when defensive tackle Aaron Donald hung up his cleats. The team did what they could to refill the substantial gap left, but his retirement will undoubtedly have an effect.
It was no secret that teams created plans specifically to mitigate the damage done by Donald. Fellow future Hall of Famer, center Jason Kelce said his Philadelphia Eagles team did just that.
49ers vs Rams: Coach Shares about NOT Prepping For Donald
“We double-teamed him, we triple-teamed him every single game, alright. He is the only defensive tackle we have ever gone up against where the entire game plan is situated on not having him ruin the game. The only one.”
Ahead of the San Francisco 49ers game against the Rams, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked what it is like to prepare for the team without Donald to worry about.
“It’s definitely a little different,” Shanahan said Wednesday, via Nick Wagoner of ESPN. “That’s been 99% of our brain power for a number of years and it’s kind of weird just not thinking that way.”
No other active head coach has had to prepare to face Donald more than Shanahan. After facing him 13 times over seven seasons, 2024 will be the first year of his career he won’t have to contend with the game wrecker.
Over those 13 games, Donald racked up 12.5 sacks, 21 tackles for loss, and 55 total tackles. Shanahan’s game planning for him got better through the years. Over the last eight games, Donald has only managed one sack and seven tackles for loss.
So far this season, the Rams’ best pass rusher has been rookie first-rounder, Jared Verse. He currently leads the team and his draft class with nine pressures, three more than the next-best rookie.
