The Los Angeles Rams welcomed legend Aaron Donald back to the mix as he works toward playing in his first game in three years. The team could not be more excited for his return, with offensive stars Matthew Stafford and Davante Adams detailing their perspectives on how Donald's impact has affected the team.
Stafford, the only quarterback in NFL history to lose a playoff game while throwing for 350-plus yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions, carried the burden of being the lone statistical loser because of the Rams' defensive immaturity in last season's NFC Championship Game. He spoke on the importance of Donald's voice as a veteran presence.
“Yeah, I think it carries a ton of weight," said Stafford on Sunday. "Obviously, he's a guy who's
accomplished everything you can accomplish on the defensive side of the ball in this sport. One of the best, if not the best, when he was out there playing for us. I'm happy to have him back, happy that he's excited about it. I know our guys on our team, in our locker room and our coaching staff, everybody's excited to have a player of his caliber and like you said, a person of his caliber as well. I'm just happy to have him around the building and back out there.”
Stafford and Donald won Super Bowl LVI together and hope to repeat that feat this season.
For Adams, he's 0-5 in NFC title games, and as a fan of football, he's excited at the possibilities Donald provides, especially when paired with Myles Garrett.
Adams shared his reaction to Donald making his return.
“I think I'm as excited as anybody in this building to see him back," said Adams. "Just questions about how things are going. Nobody knows exactly what he's going to do statistically, if he's going to be exactly what he was. But at the end of the day, I know the type of person that he is and I know the way he's going work and I know the way he looks right now. It looks like it's going to be a familiar picture for us all out there."
Adams also stated he's looking forward to watching Donald and Garrett perform together, as is everyone watching at home.
“Oh yeah. I'm such a fan of the game," he said. "When I'm not on the field, I'm watching it anyway. That's why I love going to preseason games and being able to cheer on the guys that are out there because I just love watching ball. Watching Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald work at the same time, I might be on the sideline, maybe on the field. I don't know, we'll see.”
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams stars happy to have Aaron Donald's voice back in the building
