Rams’ Aaron Donald eager to see, and sack, Jared Goff

THOUSAND OAKS — Aaron Donald is acceptable for a large time erstwhile the Rams play the Lions connected Sunday. He has been limbering up his thumbs each week.

The Rams antiaircraft tackle tapped retired texts to Lions backmost Jared Goff, joking astir what he’s going to bash to his erstwhile teammate erstwhile they conscionable for the archetypal clip successful thing different than a no-touch signifier setting.

“I told him, ‘Get ready!’ I told him I’m going to travel aft him. He knows what it is,” Donald said with a grin aft the Rams’ signifier Thursday. “I’m going to spell retired determination and effort and alert astir and effort to marque my plays. Hopefully I get to him a mates of times.

“He said thing comic back, but that’s betwixt maine and him.”

When helium isn’t kidding with Goff, Donald has been dialing up FaceTime conversations with Lions antiaircraft extremity Michael Brockers, the different aged Rams teammate returning to L.A.

“We speech each week. We’ve got a existent brotherhood,” Donald said of the conversations that see Rams chemoreceptor tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day and ex-Rams, now-Carolina Panthers antiaircraft extremity Morgan Fox.

“We’re going to get aft him, but it’s going to beryllium emotion aft the game.”

The crippled betwixt the Rams (5-1) and Lions (0-6) astatine SoFi Stadium volition people the archetypal clip quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Goff look their erstwhile teams since they were traded for each different past wintertime successful a woody that besides sent 3 draught picks to Detroit.

Less attention-getting, but conscionable arsenic meaningful to Rams players and coaches, it’s the archetypal clip they’ll look Brockers since his nine-year vocation with the St. Louis and L.A. Rams ended with a commercialized to the Lions during the free-agency play successful March.

The Rams wanted to support Brockers. But helium declined a wage chopped to assistance them conscionable the wage cap. A twelvemonth aft his free-agent signing with the Baltimore Ravens fell done due to the fact that of occupation with an ankle, helium was gone for real.

It’s the Lions’ gain. Brockers volition beryllium 31 successful December. Detroit’s defensive-line rotation includes 21-, 23- and 24-year-olds.

“Brockers has been a godsend,” Lions manager Dan Campbell told L.A. writers successful a league call. “It’s 1 of the reasons we made the determination we did with him, not lone the player, the accumulation helium brings, but, man, his enactment has been outstanding.

“He shows each our young guys, particularly those guys up front, this is however you practice, this is however you spell to work, this is however you attack your craft, this is however you hole for business.”

Brockers, a skipper with the Rams, has a locker-room beingness bigger than his 6-foot-5, astir 300-pound frame.

But that’s not to place his on-the-field presence. Filling the void near by Brockers and free-agent departee Fox has required much snaps for Joseph-Day, A’Shawn Robinson, Greg Gaines, Mike Hoecht and Jonah Williams. The Rams’ tally defence has slipped from No. 3 successful the NFL (3.8 yards a carry) successful 2020 to No. 20 (4.4) successful 2021.

“He was a coagulated tally subordinate for us,” Donald said. “Guys similar A’Shawn person stepped up determination and tried to capable immoderate large shoes with Brock being gone and (they’re) doing a large occupation for us.

“We decidedly miss him.”

Like Goff, who said helium felt “sourness” aft his trade, Brockers acknowledged his feelings astir returning to L.A.

“It’s the adjacent (game),” Brockers told Detroit writers. “I’m precise nonrecreational astir however I spell astir my business. Yes, I bash person a batch of ex-teammates connected that squad and a batch of bully friends.

“There was nary emotion mislaid betwixt maine and the Rams erstwhile I left, truthful it was conscionable astir knowing being a pro. I made a pro decision, I came here, we’re successful this presumption and we’ve conscionable got to determination forward.”

Donald said helium didn’t deliberation it volition consciousness weird to play against Goff, his teammate for 5 seasons.

“We’re going to bash our occupation and get aft him and effort to person immoderate success,” Donald said.

But his emotions mightiness beryllium thicker erstwhile helium sees Brockers successful a Lions azygous aft they played side-by-side for 7 seasons successful Rams colors.

“He’s known maine since Day 1,” Donald said of Brockers. “You physique a enslaved with somebody, similar a existent brotherhood, idiosyncratic you’re adjacent with extracurricular of football, you bent with a lot.

“I privation helium was inactive here. But he’s not.”

He’s a FaceTime transportation away.

NOTES

Running backmost Sony Michel (shoulder) returned to signifier connected a constricted ground Thursday, according to the Rams’ wounded report. Center Brian Allen (illness) missed practice. No Lions missed signifier with injuries.