Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald has been downgraded to questionable for his team’s Sunday matchup with the Washington Commanders due to a groin injury, via Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk.
The addition of Donald to the injury report comes as a nasty surprise, as the veteran has played in every game this season. In 13 games, he has logged 43 tackles and six sacks.
Donald, who played his collegiate football at the University of Pittsburgh, was selected by the Rams with the 13th overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft.
He has spent his entire career with the Rams, making the Pro Bowl in each of his first nine seasons. He also earned seven straight First-Team All-Pro selections between 2015 and 2021. Not only that, but Donald has collected three Defensive Player of the Year awards. Most importantly, he helped lead Los Angeles to a Super Bowl title during the 2021-22 campaign.
Donald has posted double-digit sacks six times in his career, most recently doing so in 2021 when he finished with 12.5 sacks. His best campaign, however, came in 2018, when he led the league with 20.5 sacks to go along with 59 tackles, four forced fumbles and a couple of fumble recoveries.
The Rams are currently 6-7 and are fighting for their playoff lives in the NFC. Going into Week 15, there are five other teams in the conference who are also 6-7.
Earlier this season, Los Angeles was 3-6 and looked dead in the water as far as its playoff hopes were concerned. However, the Rams bounced back with three straight wins to push their record to .500. They saw their winning streak snapped last weekend after an overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Obviously, Aaron Donald’s injury is the last thing Los Angeles wants to hear at the moment. The good news is that he has not been completely ruled out for the club’s clash with the Commanders.
Following their matchup with Washington, the Rams will battle the New Orleans Saints, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers to close out the regular season.
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