Welcome to The Debrief, Box Score’s freewheeling conversation about the sports we love.
This Week’s Contributors
Jim Trotter
Jim covered the NFL for The Athletic, ESPN, Sports Illustrated and The San Diego Union-Tribune. He is a Pro Football Hall of Fame voter and a former president of Pro Football Writers of America.
Farrell Evans
Farrell is a Box Score co-founder, former Sports Illustrated golf writer and the executive producer of The Land We Share, a documentary about the intimate bonds between the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club and the Shinnecock Indian Nation.
Future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald is returning to the Los Angeles Rams after a two-and-a-half-year retirement. The 35-year-old was enticed to come back by the chance to play alongside Myles Garrett and chase another Super Bowl title. Will Donald return to the form that made him one of the best ever at his position?
Jim Trotter: I don't know that he will. No. 1: He's older. No. 2: He’s been out a couple of years. Watching the US Open and seeing Venus and Serena, you realize just how much time away can affect your abilities. I think it will take him a while to get back in the groove. There's no simulating NFL games, even practice doesn't simulate that.
So I think it's going to take him a minute, but I think the Rams know that and that's why they're really counting on him for the end of the year, much more so than the beginning of the year. They want him to be an impact player in December and January and hopefully February as opposed to September. I will say this though, he has got a lot of help. Unlike when he was with the Rams previously, offenses will not be able to single him out. Because if they do, Myles Garrett and others will make them pay for that. I'm intrigued to see how that whole thing is going to work, and the Rams getting help on the back end with Trent McDuffie is a big deal for them defensively.
But my bigger concern with the Rams, honestly, is that I worry about Matthew Stafford at his age, knowing he's had some injury issues in the past. Are they asking a lot for him to remain healthy the rest of the way? The good thing is they may not have to count on him significantly if this defense lives up to billing. So they're going to be a fun team and an intriguing team to watch.
Farrell Evans: To Jim’s point, I don't think they need Aaron Donald to be what he was two-and-a-half years ago. Look at his 2023 stats. He had three passes defended, eight sacks, 53 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss, and 23 quarterback hits. He made his 10th Pro Bowl, and his ninth All-Pro selection.
In every sort of metric, he was right there at the top in 2023, but the Rams don't need him to be that level of impact player. They had a good defense last year, which had the seventh-lowest points allowed, less than 20 points a game. They’ve got Myles Garrett there now. That said, it's two-and-a-half years. Donald is only 35, and he’s never had significant injuries. I think we'll see a player, like Jim said, peaking in December, January, and February.
He won't be an every-snap player. He'll be in there on packages, and I think they'll keep him fresh. He'll be there in tough situations.
Aaron Rodgers is reuniting with Coach Mike McCarthy in Pittsburgh. They won a Super Bowl together in 2011 with the Packers. Rodgers has said that he will retire after the season. What do you think of the chances of this reunion succeeding and the Steelers continuing their run of 22 consecutive seasons without a losing record, an NFL record?
Farrell: I'm a big Mike Tomlin fan so I watched all 19 games that the Steelers played last year. And Rodgers, he had a fine year. He can't move at all. With as many years as he played, he's been sacked 600 times. He’s the NFL leader in all-time sacks. He gets the ball out fast, but he's going to get hit.
