Aaron Donald: I reached out to Jared Goff to say I'm proud of him
The Rams will be trying to beat the Lions on Sunday night, but defensive tackle Aaron Donald took a little time out before the game to congratulate one of his former teammates on the success he's had in Detroit.
Donald said at his Thursday press conference that he got in touch with Lions quarterback Jared Goff earlier this week to touch base ahead of this weekend's playoff game. Donald said that Goff "helped us do some great things" and that he told the quarterback that he has been proud to see what Goff has done to help create "all the success they've been having" the last couple of years.
“We had a good relationship," Donald said. "We were cool, proud of what he'd been accomplishing. Reached out to him and told him I'm proud of him. So I feel like we have a good relationship.”
Friendship and admiration won't cross over into the field of play on Sunday and Donald was asked if his time with Goff has provided him with insight into how to come out on top.
“No, obviously he grew as a player so you know some things he did well, some things that made him feel uncomfortable you could take advantage of," Donald said. "But obviously he grew as a player. The X’s and O’s, he probably knows even much more than what he did when he was here. So he's a great football player. We know he’s not the most mobile guy, but when he’s got a clean pocket and he's able to make all the right throws, he can do that. So we just got to do a great job of finding ways to put pressure on him, make him uncomfortable, and hopefully we get to him.”
Sunday's game won't be the first time Goff has faced the Rams since the 2021 trade that sent him to Detroit. The Rams beat the Lions 28-17 later that year and Donald's good feelings for what Goff has accomplished won't stop him from trying to make sure things play out a similar way this time around.
