Rams announce Aaron Donald will not play in season opener vs. 49ers in Australia

Star quarterback Aaron Donald will not play in the Los Angeles Rams’ Week 1 game against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne on Thursday, the NFL’s first-ever game in Australia, Aaron Donald announced Tuesday.

The decision comes down to Donald’s long-term viability and what such an early overseas trip, with a long flight and 17-hour time difference, will do to his recovery efforts.

Donald, 35, has spent his time since Official return on August 30 He’s getting back into football shape after a two-year retirement, and won’t be ready for such a tough road trip to start the season.

Donald has said he only wants to make this comeback effort if he’s completely gone, and the three-time Defensive Player of the Year isn’t quite there yet. Instead of doing it in a specific or indirect way, Donald wants to be the full version of himself When he returned to the field.

“Do I feel like I can play at a high level? Yes. Do I feel like I can still be myself? One hundred percent.” Donald said when he first announced his return.. “If I didn’t feel that way, I wouldn’t be here. … If anything, it’s just knocking off the rust as far as getting back on the grass and playing football again, 11-on-11, working on my eyes, getting a feel for the game, some reactions and things that made me who I am.”

“Once you choose to go back, you go back in. You can’t be half in it. You have to be in it.”

After the blockbuster trade for Kings, the Rams will have a lot to work on without him on defense. Player of the year Miles Garrett And twice All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie. At Donald’s special position, Coby Turner and Braden Fiske will have to play the bulk of the snaps.

It remains to be seen exactly when Donald will return to action, but it could be as early as the team’s Week 2 matchup against the New York Giants. That game is on “Monday Night Football” and Sophie Stadium, where Donald helped lead the Rams to a Super Bowl victory in 2021.