The Houston Texans are coming off of a surprisingly impressive campaign, but they could still use some help on the defensive side of the ball. Could they turn to the Los Angeles Rams for assistance?
Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department lists Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald as one of the top potential trade targets for the Texans, who ranked a mediocre 14th in the league in defense this season.
But would Los Angeles trade Donald?
The superstar is 32 years old and is entering the final year of his deal. Los Angeles did just make the playoffs, but it doesn’t seem to have a very large window with the aging Matthew Stafford under center.
Taking that into consideration, the Rams could look to move Donald this offseason in order to recoup some value for him.
Let’s face it: as fun as LA was during the second half of 2023, it is not by any means a legitimate Super Bowl contender, and while it has a decent amount of cap room heading into the offseason (about $35 million), it’s hard to imagine the Rams making any moves significant enough to move them past teams like the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC.
It might be smart for Los Angeles to cash in on Donald now and land some valuable assets for him.
While Donald may not be the same force of nature he was several years ago, he is still a very good player. This past season, he registered 53 tackles and eight sacks, earning his 10th straight Pro Bowl selection (he has never missed the Pro Bowl).
If the Texans can insert Aaron Donald along their defensive front, it would certainly improve their defense and take them from a middle-of-the-road unit to, potentially, one of the scarier defenses in the AFC, particularly if they utilize the rest of their expansive cap space wisely.
Houston went 10-7 and won the AFC South this year. It ended up losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
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