If/when future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald resets the five-year clock on his induction to zero, he’ll join a team that has nearly zero defensive starters from the last time he played.
The only defensive starter who was on the team when Donald retired after the 2023 season is linebacker Byron Young.
Looking at the roster more broadly, the Rams have only four players left from the team that won Super Bowl LVI to cap the 2021 season: tight end Tyler Higbee, tackle Alaric Jackson, center Coleman Shelton, and quarterback Matthew Stafford. Every defensive player from that team is gone (including, for now, Donald).
Only six remain from the 2023 roster, with the four listed above, offensive lineman Kevin Dotson, and defensive tackle Larrell Murchison.
It’s another example of how dramatically NFL lineups change from one year to the next. Every season really is a one-year experience for each franchise. By the next year, many things will be very different.
For Donald, despite being gone for only two years, he’ll see only one familiar face on defense if/when he puts his No. 99 uniform back on and takes the field.
The good news is that the Rams have reloaded on the fly, with a team that has been a consistent playoff contender (except for 2022) and that is the favorite to win the Super Bowl without Donald. With Donald, some will say there’s no reason to play the games.
But that’s, as a wise man once said, why they play the games.
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