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Aaron Donald has been one of the most dominant forces in the NFL on defense in the last 10 years. However, he will miss his first career game this Sunday due to the ankle injury he suffered in Week 12's contest vs. the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Rams announced on Wednesday that they've ruled out the star defensive tackle for Sunday's game vs. the Seattle Seahawks.
It wasn't clear when Donald suffered the injury in the Chiefs game, but he met with team doctors following the loss with a bothering ankle. From there, the team knew he had a high ankle sprain, but were waiting to see how serious the injury was.
This is a big hit for the Rams as they'll be without their best defensive player and captain. Los Angeles is already in last place in the NFC West with a 3-9 record. They're also without quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp for some time.
Rams could shut down Aaron Donald, Matthew Stafford, and Cooper Kupp for the rest of the season
While Donald is officially out for Week 13's contest, Rams head coach Sean McVay added that Matthew Stafford is still in concussion protocol. He said that the quarterback will likely miss Sunday's game as well.
Stafford suffered a neck injury which has led to him being in concussion protocol for the last few weeks. His absence has been felt harshly as backup Bryce Perkins assumed the helm of Sean McVay's usually-lethal offense with little success.
Wide receiver Cooper Kupp underwent ankle surgery and is expected to miss at least the next four games.
The team also put wide receiver Allen Robinson on injured reserve earlier this week, ending his season.
While the Rams players aren't getting any younger, it seems likely that they can and will probably shut down their superstars for the remainder of the season to get healthier for next season.
