GARRETT WON'T PUSH DONALD'S 'DIFFICULT' COMEBACK DECISIONMYLES GARRETT WON'T PUSH AARON DONALD'S 'DIFFICULT' COMEBACK DECISION WITH RAMS
"Good Morning Football" rotates through everyone at the breakfast table to field their thoughts on how the Los Angeles Rams can potentially feature a fearsome tandem between 3-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, former defensive tackle Aaron Donald and 2-time NFL DPOY Rams defensive end Myles Garrett.
The Aaron Donald decision remains in a waiting pattern, with the Los Angeles Rams not expecting the three-time Defensive Player of the Year to declare his intent to come out of retirement one way or another anytime soon.
In the interim, players keep getting asked about the potential of adding another game-wrecking defensive lineman. Newly acquired edge rusher Myles Garrett, whose presence in L.A. spurred the discussion of a Donald return, said he’d love to play alongside the defensive tackle, but won’t push him one way or another.
“If he’s here, I’m going to be excited to be his teammate, his partner in crime,” Garrett said Wednesday, via the Associated Press. ”I think we’re going to do great things. But it’s a difficult thing, coming back.”
Donald began a workout program following the blockbuster Garrett trade, but has yet to decide whether he’s in a place to return. The Rams have no desire or reason to force the 35-year-old to make a decision.
“I think there’s a lot we can learn from each other,” Garrett said. “I’d love to pick his brain on the kind of things he does to attack his matchups, and I think the same could be said vice versa. ... I’ve told him I’d love to learn from him. I’ve watched his tape. Obviously, I think everyone who’s been a rusher from anywhere across the line, they have a lot of respect for him. But I don’t want to push him one way or another.”
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Adding Donald to a D-line that sports Garrett would give the Rams two players who combined for five of the past nine Defensive Player of the Year awards, with Garrett earning two of the past three.
Garrett acknowledged that returning after two years off isn’t as easy as snapping your fingers. It takes time, diligence and a certain mentality to get back into football shape after so much time off.
“As much as you can try to work yourself back into shape, we get a small taste of it when we come back from the offseason; you’ve got to get your wind and your legs back underneath you,” Garrett said. “When you get on the field, things are flying around, you’ve got to find a way to get your conditioning back and slow down the game once more. Someone as great as he is, I think he could definitely come back and do it ... for however many games he chooses to play.”
If anyone could get back into shape and dominate, it’s Donald, whose workout regimens are legendary. But it’s not as simple as speaking it into existence. While the story is an intriguing one early in training camp, L.A. and Donald can take their time before making the ultimate decision.