The San Francisco 49ers might have to wait until their second matchup against the Los Angeles Rams to face Aaron Donald.
ESPN’s Dan Granziano answered what kind of workload he expects to see from Aaron Donald on Tuesday afternoon:
“Well, they’re figuring that out, Laura. He just got there, and he hasn’t played in 2 years. They’re really kind of working him in to practice now, and seeing what, if anything, he’s going to be able to deliver for them.
“Remember, their Week 1 game against the 49ers is in Australia,
and that game is nine days from today. You can’t rule anything out, obviously, with Aaron Donald. And the Rams aren’t going to rule him out in terms of playing Week 1 — at least not yet. But I would say, based on everything that I’ve been told, a Week 2 or 3 debut looks more likely than Week 1.
But again, it’s still on the table. In terms of workload, they’ll watch his snaps, obviously. They have a lot of depth on that defensive line, even just beyond him, in Myles Garrett. They feel like they have the ability early in the season to watch his snaps and count his snaps. As you said, the goal is to win the Super Bowl, not to max him out in Weeks 1, 2, 3.”
Even if the 49ers were to face Donald, it’d be on a limited snap count. They won’t complain about not having to game plan for a future Hall of Famer when he’ll be at his freshest and healthiest all season.
That’s good news for Carver Willis. The last thing the projected starter at left guard needs is to be made an example out of as Donald proves he’s “still got it” after two years off. Donald won’t be what he once was, but if there’s anybody capable of defying Father Time, he’d be the player to do it.
