Aaron Donald Will Not Play For Rams In Season Opener Vs. 49ers In Australia

Defensive lineman Aaron Donald will not travel with the Rams to Melbourne to play in their season opener against the San Francisco 49ers, coach Sean McVay said Tuesday.

Donald, who rejoined the Rams last month after a two-year retirement, wouldn’t confirm if he was planning to play in the season opener when asked multiple times by reporters on Monday, only saying he was “feeling really good. Feeling great.”

The development is not too surprising considering McVay and his assistants were not committing to Donald playing. Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula said Monday that the team was taking a “day-to-day” approach regarding Donald’s status.

“I think he’ll be ready to go sooner rather than later, but we’re making a decision that we think is best for him and for our team,” McVay said. “He’s attacked this the right way, but it would have been a really quick turnaround.”

One person who might be surprised about Donald not playing is 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan. He told reporters Sunday he “definitely” expected Donald to play.

Read more:Rams used player ‘guinea pigs’ to help craft their Australia travel plan

Rams players and staff are scheduled to leave Los Angeles for Melbourne on Tuesday night, arriving in Australia on Thursday morning. The game will take place on Friday at 10:35 a.m. local time (5:35 p.m. PDT Thursday), with the Rams planning to fly back to L.A. soon afterward.

Barring any setback, Donald should play Sept. 21 when the Rams face the New York Giants at SoFi Stadium.

One player who is expected to take the field at Melbourne Cricket Ground is Myles Garrett. McVay said the star defensive end will be “ready to go” after a left knee problem kept him out of practice for multiple weeks before he returned Sunday.

“We’ve been smart with Myles ... but his impact has been tremendous, his overall vibe, what kind of teammate he’s been,” McVay said. “And so looking forward to getting him out there with the guys and being a great factor for us.”

Read more:More than just a coaching tree: Why Sean McVay is so good at forging NFL coaches

Garrett did not practice on Tuesday, as did cornerback Jaylen Watson, who appeared on the injury report with a toe issue.

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.