Future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald has a ‘fire lit into me’ playing with young Rams

Eric Williams

NFC West Writer

IRVINE, Calif. — Eric Henderson has seen this before.

The intensity and hunger in his eyes. The superhuman work ethic. The flinging of offensive linemen like rag dolls as he sprints toward the quarterback.

After missing the final six games of last season with a high ankle sprain — the first significant injury of his nine-year NFL career — Aaron Donald appears back to form during training camp. 

And that’s no surprise to the longtime Los Angeles Rams defensive line coach/run game coordinator.

“He does a really good job of taking care of himself, getting back to a place where he’s physically able to do the things he normally does,” Henderson told FOX Sports. “You see there are no limitations with him, but obviously you want to be smart because of how important he is to the organization and give him a break when there’s an opportunity.

“And he’s been awesome in the room, being a mentor with a lot of the young guys we have. I’m just excited to have a guy like that back — his presence and how much he means to the team.” 

Except for Donald, the Rams lost their entire starting defensive line from last season. Leading sack man Leonard Floyd was released due to salary-cap restraints, joining former L.A. teammate Von Miller in Buffalo. Run-stuffing defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson is with the New York Giants, while fellow defensive tackle Greg Gaines joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency. Edge rusher Justin Hollins returned to the Green Bay Packers. 

Those players will be replaced by little-known names like Marquise Copeland, Larrell Murchison, Jonah Williams, Bobby Brown III, Earnest Brown IV, Michael Hoecht and Daniel Hardy, along with rookies Byron Young, Kobie Turner and Desjuan Johnson.

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“You always take the approach in training camp where you want to work from the ground up with your guys, in terms of rebuilding those techniques and base fundamentals,” Henderson…

Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/future-hall-of-famer-aaron-donald-has-a-fire-lit-into-me-playing-with-young-rams

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Publish date : 2023-08-02 18:11:50

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