To the surprise of no one, future Pro Football Hall of Famer Aaron Donald has chosen to rejoin the Los Angeles Rams. His retirement from the league lasted two seasons, but he is now back to chase another Super Bowl.
Rumors of this idea immediately began to swirl the moment the Rams traded for Myles Garrett, arguably the league's best pass rusher, this offseason. It was a scary thought for opposing teams, but as the summer wore on, it seemed inevitable. It's now official. The Rams, already one of the top favorites to reach this year's Super Bowl, now have two of the greatest defensive players in NFL history on their team.
That's not good news for a Denver Broncos team that will play the Rams in Week 3, an early chance for NFL fans to circle their
calendars, as the potential Super Bowl preview will be played in front of a national television audience on Sunday Night Football.
Broncos will face Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald in Week 3
It remains to be seen how good Donald will be, but it's hard to believe he would be coming back to be mediocre. However, there is no doubting how good he was in his first stint with the Rams.
A first-round pick in 2014, Donald racked up 111 sacks (33rd most in history) while being one of the most disruptive and hard-to-deal-with defensive linemen that ever stepped on a field. He truly had no weakness in his game. The idea that he will now line up on the same line with Garrett, who is fresh off breaking the single-season sacks record last season, is hard to believe.
Needless to say, the Broncos are going to have their hands full in this one. It was already going to be a difficult matchup, but Donald now being back on the Rams' roster makes it even more of a challenge. It stands as a solid early-season litmus test for the Broncos, as the game will be played in Denver.
Former Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe gave his thoughts on how to beat the Rams, stating that running the ball against them will be essential to avoid them "pinning back their ears" and attacking the quarterback. That is sound advice, and in order to avoid Bo Nix being in a tough situation early in the season, the Broncos will need to establish the run in this game.
Donald has faced the Broncos just twice in his career, registering a sack in each of those games. The Rams won both of them. He was not in the lineup when the teams most recently met on Christmas Day in 2022, a 51-14 blowout victory for the Rams.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Broncos’ prime-time game in Week 3 just got more difficult
