PFT’S Mike Florio: What Pairing Garrett & Aaron Donald Would Mean for the Rams

Mike Florio has seen this movie before, and it usually doesn't end with a trophy.

The narrative he's enjoying is the one NFL locker rooms are starting to absorb: that Myles Garrett going to the Rams has essentially ended the season before it started. Florio's response was to reach for history. Every time a team gets crowned in June, it disappoints.

He pointed to the 2011 Eagles "dream team," the label Vince Young hung on Philadelphia when he signed on as a backup. He went all the way back to 2000, when Washington added Bruce Smith and Deion Sanders and people were ready to hand over the Super Bowl, only for that team to miss the playoffs entirely.

So the next pipe dream, Aaron Donald returning, gives Florio pause for a different reason. It wouldn't just make the Rams better. It would pile pressure on a team already carrying plenty, on Garrett, and especially on Matthew Stafford.

Stafford's back is the worry. Florio noted the Rams discussed putting him on injured reserve to start last season, and anyone who's dealt with back issues knows they return without warning. Florio offered himself as evidence, having tweaked his own back two and a half weeks ago bending over to pick up a pile of clothes for the wash. If Stafford goes down, the options are Ty Simpson or Stetson Bennett, which is its own kind of pressure.

Still, Florio thinks the Donald comeback feels real. Rich pointed to the social-media tells, with Donald posting highlights of himself on Instagram, something he hadn't been doing lately. Florio agreed, recalling that Donald said last week he needs that fire. Maybe the posts are him rubbing two sticks together, putting it out there to see how it's received.

The case for Donald actually working is compelling. He's 35 but hasn't played in two years, which means two fewer years of wear than if he'd played continuously since entering the league as a first-round pick in 2014. By his own account, he got burned out, which Florio said is easy to understand when you've got two or three guys blocking you every play. Now Donald could come back and, with Garrett drawing extra attention, finally face one blocker instead of three.

That, Florio said, would make the Rams the clear Super Bowl favorites, with the added wrinkle that they host the Super Bowl this year. And it would set an unforgiving bar. Anything less than a Super Bowl appearance, if not a win, would be viewed as a disappointment.