Rams vs. Redskins: Three players to watch for on Sunday
By Jason Reed
DT Aaron Donald
Ram fans will get their first look of Aaron Donald in the 2017 campaign after Donald finally decided to end his contract holdout. Donald missed all of training camp, the preseason and week one of the regular season due to a holdout regarding his rookie contract.
In the end, the two sides were not able to reach an agreement on a contract, meaning that Donald will still be under his rookie contract for two seasons. Los Angeles is saving a lot of money in the short-term, only needing to pay him 1.8 million, but will ultimately lose out at the chances of Donald resigning are growing slimmer and slimmer.
However, for the time being, Donald is still a member of the Los Angeles Rams and is a pivotal part of a playoff push this season. Donald is easily within the top three, if not the best, defensive tackles in the entire league. The fourth-year star has already been named to three Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams. In three seasons, Donald has registered 28 sacks.
The Rams defense may have thrived last week without Donald but his presence will play a tremendous impact. Kirk Cousins was sacked four times last week against a solid Eagles defense that also effectively shut out the run game from Robert Kelley. This week the Rams can duplicate that success with Donald on the field.
However, rust should be taken into consideration when it comes to Donald. The defensive tackle has not seen any sort of snaps in the NFL in over eight months. Although he is a freak athlete and is immensely talented, this rust could ultimately hold Donald, and the Rams, back in week two.