The Los Angeles Rams drafted Braden Fiske shortly after Aaron Donald retired, but the two have still managed to spend time together anyway, including working out and going to sporting events. The duo has never played together, although that could change if momentum continues to lean towards Donald return from retirement, giving every member of L.A.’s defense an exciting chance to play with an NFL legend. It would be an opportunity for Fiske to learn directly from the man himself on a week-to-week basis, something that can’t be replicated unless you’re teammates, but Donald’s presence on the roster would come as a double-edged sword.
Two years ago, Fiske finished third in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting and he was poised to develop into one of the best 3-4 defensive ends in the league. But if Donald is on the roster, the chances of Fiske’s playing time going down for the second year in a row means that his development is headed in the wrong direction.
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If Fiske, Kobie Turner, and Poona Ford are meant to be one of the best defensive lines in the NFL already, leading a group that also includes recent draftees Tyler Davis, Ty Hamilton, and Tim Keenan as backups, would Aaron Donald’s return be exciting in the moment but stunt the Rams’ future?
It’s hard to get better from the sidelines
Braden Fiske is 26. If the Rams go as deep in the playoffs as they intend to go, Fiske will turn 27 before the NFC Championship. So it’s not like L.A. has another five years to develop Fiske, he’s actually supposed to be as great as he’ll ever be right now.
And that certainly did not look like a concern after Fiske’s rookie season with 8.5 sacks.
Not only was Fiske a second-round pick, the Rams traded a future second-round pick to move up for him in 2024. He rewarded Les Snead’s faith by wreaking havoc—alongside Jared Verse and Turner and Byron Young—to the tune of 8.5 sacks, 22 pressures, and 10 TFL on 661 snaps. He added 1.5 sacks in two playoff games, giving him 10 on the entire year.
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There is no replacing Aaron Donald, but that was pretty damn impressive.
Fiske still flashed some of those talents in 2025, including 2 sacks in the playoffs:
However, the proof is in the pudding and the pudding is playing time:
Chris Shula clearly felt it was safe to reduce Fiske’s snap count, going down from 661 to 542, or just 48 percent of L.A.‘s total defensive snaps. In return, Tyler Davis got 42 percent, up from 29 percent in his rookie year. That is essentially a sixth-round pick proving to be nearly as important as a second-round pick from the same class.
But we don’t talk about it because Ty Davis didn’t get 10 sacks as a rookie.
Fiske’s reduction in playing time can certainly be spun as a positive, if it means that L.A.‘s total defensive line core is more diverse and effective. The Rams saw across the board improvement on defense, including ranking 10th in points allowed per game, sixth in points per defensive drive allowed, and improvements in both yards per pass allowed and yards per carry allowed.
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Sure, Fiske was not as productive (3.5 sacks, 4 TFL, 14 fewer tackles) and didn’t see the field as much, but it’s all good as long as the gander is successful, right?
That depends.
Is the entire flocking going to get erased by the return of a bald eagle?
Who loses a roster spot?
There are no “Aaron Donald exemptions” in the NFL rule book. If he returns, somebody is losing their job and it’s probably someone from the defensive line.
Fiske is safe. Turner is safe. Ford, who played almost as many snaps as Fiske, is safe. Davis is safe.
The defensive line group had seven players make the final 53-man roster, including Desjuan Johnson, who has since moved to an edge position.
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Those four and Donald would make five, followed by Hamilton, Larrell Murchison, Keenan, and a trio of backend players. Okay, so let’s say Donald is in, alongside Hamilton and Murchison, and Keenan is cut.
Who plays the most on Sunday?
If Donald returns, he’s not doing it to just watch football. If he’s going to come out of retirement, it’s going to be so he can play. In his last season, Donald played 867 snaps (or to put it another way, 300 more snaps than a “young” Braden Fiske) and that was considered low for him.
Even a reduced rate to 600 snaps would be more than every defensive lineman on the roster last year except for Turner.
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The addition of Donald, even if it’s welcome and a clear upgrade to who the Rams currently have, nevertheless disrupts—and potentially cancels—the development of Braden Fiske, if not Tyler Davis, if not both.
Trading a player like Fiske even becomes a topic of discussion in L.A.’s front office.
The thought of Fiske’s playing time going down in his third season, when he’s supposed to be leading the charge as a third-year player, feels very devastating for his career prospects. As JB Scott wrote in May, Fiske wasn’t as bad last year as it seemed on paper, and it’s really his run defense — leading to the signing of Ford — that cost him playing time. Not pass rush, although he was worse at that too.
But if he’s not that bad, why would the Rams entertain cratering his career for a 35 year old who hasn’t played since 2023?
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“Because he’s Aaron Donald!”
Fair enough. But that is what would be happening. Playing with Donald is a great opportunity for any young player—which would be great news for Fiske if he wasn’t halfway through his rookie contract and almost 27.
There is more downside when it comes to Fiske than there is upside. There is more upside for the Rams signing Donald than there is downside. But long-term, AD’s return could spell Fiske’s eventual departure.
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