Rams’ Aaron Donald is officially done and troubled defense is officially short-handed

New Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula has his hands full because of training camp injuries. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

It’s been four months since Aaron Donald announced his retirement but the official transaction was not completed until Friday when the Rams placed the future Hall of Famer on the NFL’s reserve/retired list.

Although Donald is not at training camp at Loyola Marymount, his influence is felt daily, defensive coordinator Chris Shula said.

“We see him all the time on tape, and we talk about it a lot,” Shula said after a jog-through. “But obviously, we’re moving forward with the guys we have here and trying to build the best defense we can.”

With an offense that features quarterback Matthew Stafford, receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, running back Kyren Williams and an experienced and upgraded line, the offense is not a question mark for the Rams.

The defense, however, is no longer a known quantity.

Read more: Hernández: Now that Matthew Stafford deal is done, can Rams deal with the loss of Aaron Donald?

Shula, 38, is in his first season as coordinator after working as a defensive position coach for seven seasons on coach Sean McVay’s staff.

Shula worked under former Rams coordinators Wade Phillips, Brandon Staley and Raheem Morris, helping the Rams to five playoff appearances, two Super Bowls and one championship.

McVay promoted Shula after Raheem Morris left to become coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

“You’re always going to put your personality on the defense,” Shula said. “Obviously, I can’t be Raheem Morris. I couldn’t even try to be Raheem Morris, I don’t think anybody could.

“But I’m going to try and take aspects just from my past and stuff I’ve believed in. … It’s about the players. It’s about finding out what these guys can do, and what these guys are good at, and then kind of molding it to that.”

Less than a week into training camp, Shula and a defense led by linebacker Ernest Jones IV already…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/rams-aaron-donald-officially-done-233101988.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2024-07-26 23:31:01

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.