When discussing defensive tackle Aaron Donald’s ongoing holdout earlier this week, Rams coach Sean McVay said he wasn’t ready to rule Donald out of the team’s Week One game against the Colts.
That was in line with McVay’s routine optimism about getting Donald back despite the lack of progress toward the new deal that Donald wants from the team and his offseason-long no-show for team activities. On Friday, though, McVay finally let the cat out of the invisible bag.
“It’s safe to say he won’t be a part of this game,” McVay said, via Joe Curley of the Ventura County Star.
Rookie Tanzel Smart is set to start at defensive tackle along with Michael Brockers this weekend and for however long it takes for the Rams to work out a way to get their top defensive player back into the fold.