Six words the Rams knew would one day come but hoped were years away:
The Aaron Donald era is over.
Surreal as it may be, it’s true. One of the greatest defensive players not just of his generation but of all time is calling it a career after 10 seasons that all ended with a Pro Bowl selection, eight with first-team All-Pro spots and one with a Super Bowl ring.
As the sacks and memories are sorted through, a question must be asked: What now?
Donald has been the Rams’ best player for each of his 10 seasons. A true pillar, or, as Les Snead called him, Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp last offseason, a “weight-bearing wall” for the franchise. One that, so long as he was around, the Rams never need consider a rebuild.
Donald gave the Rams one last gift before he retired, returning for the 2023 season to pass along some of his wisdom to the younger generation before hanging them up. Rookies like Kobie Turner, Byron Young and Desjuan Johnson played with and learned from one of the greats, and it elevated the defense and the team as a whole to an unexpected playoff appearance.
But the emotional departure of Donald leaves the Rams with some very practical holes to fill.
First and foremost, is Donald’s production on the field. It’s impossible to replace him with one player, and his departure impacts the looks the rest of the defensive line will get. Turner and Young far outplayed their third-round draft status as rookies with nine and eight sacks respectively. But they would not have enjoyed such clean paths to the pocket without Donald absorbing his typical double- and triple-teams even in Year 10.
The Rams have known that this was Donald’s decision for some time, a source said. The front office entered free agency with this understanding. They freed up some cap space by converting Donald’s $30 million salary to a $13.8 million bonus, reducing Donald’s cap hit for 2024 to $17 million, per Spotrac.
But the Rams have already used much of that…
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