Good news for the San Francisco 49ers: The Rams will be traveling to Australia on Tuesday night with 285 fewer pounds of cargo than head coach Kyle Shanahan expected.
Defensive tackle Aaron Donald won’t play against the 49ers on Thursday night in the season opener at Melbourne Cricket Ground, ESPN first reported. Donald, 35, returned to the Rams on Aug. 30, ending his two-year retirement, and Los Angeles wants to give the eight-time All-Pro and three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year more time to prepare before he plays in his first game since Jan. 14, 2024.
Shanahan indicated Monday he was game-planning with Donald in mind.
“He’s a hell of a player,” Shanahan said, “and we’ll have our work cut out for” us.
Shanahan expected him to play? “Oh yeah, definitely,” he said.
The lack of Donald is particularly welcome news for the 49ers given their biggest question mark is at left guard, a position where they haven’t publicly declared a starter. The two first-string candidates are rookie fourth-round pick Carver Willis and Connor Colby, a 2025 seventh-round pick who struggled in six fill-in starts last season.
Even with Donald in Southern California, the 49ers could have their work cut out for them. In the offseason, the Rams traded for pass rusher Myles Garrett, the league’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie. Donald and Garrett are the first teammates in NFL history to both win multiple defensive player of the year awards.
On Monday, left tackle Trent Williams likened blocking Donald to trying to catch a fish with “your bare hands.”
“He’s obviously one of the greatest of all time,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “They were already a stacked team to begin with.”
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This article originally published at 49ers will avoid facing Rams DT Aaron Donald, who won’t travel to Australia.
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