Aaron Donald ripped off Rob Havenstein’s helmet during scrimmage scuffle
Things got a little heated during the Rams’ full-team scrimmage on Tuesday, particularly when the starting offense went up against the starting defense. Peter King of NBC Sports was in attendance in Thousand Oaks and he saw tempers flare on the field.
At one point, there was a scuffle that involved Aaron Donald and the offensive line, which ended with Donald ripping off Rob Havenstein’s helmet and throwing it. Things settled down after Sean McVay broke it up, but it was an example of the intensity the Rams practice with.
King took that as a positive, showing how dedicated and motivated the Rams are.
“This team is very chippy when they practice. This team takes practice very seriously,” King said. “Case in point: first-team offense against the first-team defense. Aaron Donald for part of this practice, as coach Sean McVay told me, was wrecking practice. And at one point, there’s a little scuffle. It is Aaron Donald versus the offensive line versus tackle Rob Havenstein. And at one point, Aaron Donald rips off Havenstein’s helmet and just throws it and McVay runs in there. The whole thing is stopped. But I just looked at that and I just said, ‘We’re in the middle of August and this team’s practicing like they’re playing the Chargers this weekend in a real game – or they’re playing somebody in a real game.’ I just think that, to me, is a good sign. This is not a team that wins a Super Bowl, goes through the motions of practice the next year. This is a team that realizes that if we’re out here practicing, let’s practice.”
King also noted in the video that Matthew Stafford’s arm looks perfectly normal, and that he threw it all over the field – even some 40-45 yards downfield. The purpose of limiting Stafford’s workload this offseason was to minimize the discomfort he feels in his elbow after he felt some of that last year, despite playing through it all year.
The Rams aren’t worried about Stafford’s arm, nor is King. So it seems all is right in the world heading into the regular season this September.
