Jalen Carter reveals Aaron Donald connection ahead of Eagles-Rams SNF game

Nick Sirianni is excited not to face Aaron Donald in Week 12

While it will be surreal to watch a Rams game without Donald on the field for the Philly fans who don’t keep up with LA on the regular, one person who is ecstatic by his absence is Nick Sirianni, who doesn’t have to know where number 99 is at all times before Jalen Hurts snaps the ball.

“Yeah, had the privilege to work with [Rams Defensive Coordinator] Chris Shula at the Chargers. Got a lot of respect for him as a football coach. I think he’s doing an outstanding job. They still have really good players. Any good player keeps you up. Not that I’m sad that [former Rams DT] Aaron Donald is not going to be there. But they’ve got really a defensive line. Chris and [Rams Senior Defensive Assistant/Associate Head Coach] Sean [Desai] are doing a great job of leading that defense,” Sirianni told reporters on Monday.

“We’re early in our studies. Obviously had some more time to study them, but a lot of our time was devoted towards self-scout and then early studies on the Rams. We’re early on with those things. Yeah, Chris has put his own spin on that defense, and they’re playing well. This is a good football team. We’re going to have a challenge this weekend.”

Now granted, just because Donald is gone doesn’t mean the Rams don’t still have some serious firepower on the rush, as Jared Verse will probably beat out Quinyon Mitchell for Defensive Rookie of the Year, and players like Braden Fiske, Kobie Turner, Colby Durant, and Byron Young are no slouches either. Still, no Donald is good news for Philly’s finest, as while they still have plenty of problems to account for, number 99 ain’t one.