LOS ANGELES — Aaron Donald couldn’t hold the joke long. Asked how his back was feeling after returning to practice as a full participant Friday, the Rams defensive tackle turned his head, grabbed his back and said, “Aw, [expletive].” Then he quickly turned back to the assembled media with a toothy grin.
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“I feel good, I feel good,” Donald said. “I feel a lot better than what I was.”
Donald came out of the Rams’ Week 3 loss to the Broncos with a sore back. He was unable to practice last week and was held out of the Rams’ win over the Eagles.
It was a decision that Donald had no issue with, despite the per-game bonuses in his contract, until he saw how the Rams (2-2) pass rush played with four sacks and 26 quarterback pressures.
“I wish I was out there; god damn I wish I was out there,” Donald said. “But I was proud of them. I thought they played good, they battled.”
But the rest was good for him as he worked through his rehab with the Rams’ training staff. Donald reported he was feeling better this week and that he had not suffered any setbacks since returning to practice.
And, most importantly, he plans on playing this week against the Buffalo Bills (3-1).
“It was great to see him out there, running around, playing again,” Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula said before Friday’s practice. “It’s been going having him back kind of in the mix. He got his legs under in him in those couple games he was able to play. So good to have a good week of prep and we’ll see how it goes.”
Two years away from the game following his initial retirement and without a training camp to prepare for the season, it’s fair to question if Donald’s body is still adjusting to being back playing football. He had much more good-natured responses to questions about the subject Friday than he might have in the past, asking reporters if he looked out of shape and joking that he missed two training camps in his career due to holdouts.
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But turning more serious, Donald said he feels like his body is where it needs to be even after the back injury.
“I do feel good. I don’t feel like my wind’s off, I don’t feel like I be out there exhausted,” Donald said. “I think the way that we’re able to rotate helps me a lot. But I do feel good. Just gotta keep going, try to be more productive.”
Injury report
In addition to Donald, tight end Colby Parkinson (shoulder) returned to a full practice Friday. Offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase said if Parkinson is able to play, it will allow the Rams to access more of the 13-personnel packages they couldn’t use against the Eagles without Parkinson and Terrance Ferguson (ankle).
Cornerback Jaylen Watson (shoulder) logged his second consecutive limited practice, while linebacker Nate Landman (shoulder) was upgraded from limited Thursday to full on Friday.
Safety Quentin Lake missed his second consecutive practice with a hip injury. During the portion of practice open to media, head coach Sean McVay came over to check on Lake’s progress with VP of sports medicine Reggie Scott, who was directly supervising Lake’s rehab. Lake appeared to be in serious discomfort as he did exercises with Scott.
LB Grant Stuard (hamstring) and OLB Josaiah Stewart (groin) both did not practice Friday for a second consecutive day.
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