Aaron Donald drew plenty of attention during the preseason for wielding opponents' helmets during a scuffle at a Rams-Bengals joint practice. He now wants to downplay what happened.
Asked about the incident by The Associated Press' Rob Maaddi, LA's All-Pro defensive tackle described the incident as "football." He also said that he preferred to focus on the team's Week 1 matchup against the Bills.
"It was just a practice. It was football. I don't really want to go back to nothing negative that happened and talk about something that happened in a practice," Donald told Maaddi. "My main focus is Buffalo."
Donald was also asked if he discussed the incident with the Rams and coach Sean McVay and whether everything was OK. He simply responded: "Yes."
Regarding the helmet incident at #Rams #Bengals joint practice last week, Aaron Donald told me: "It was just a practice. It was football. I don't really wanna go back to nothing negative that happened & talk about something that happened in a practice. My main focus is Buffalo."
— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) August 31, 2022
MORE: Aaron Donald's timeline of dirty plays
The Bengals and Rams got into a major altercation just a day after they had one of "the most polite joint practices in history." Donald was seen in a video swinging a helmet at Bengals players.
Deleted video of Aaron Donald swinging a helmet at bengals players. pic.twitter.com/dHCAGN8Bby
— Not Jake 🥷🏻 (@CincyHub) August 25, 2022
The lasting image of the incident was a photo of Donald holding two Bengals helmets in his hands.
#Rams Aaron Donald swinging two #Bengals helmets in the mix. pic.twitter.com/y92A0gNskd
— Sam Greene (@SGdoesit) August 25, 2022
MORE: Revisiting the Myles Garrett-Mason Rudolph helmet hit
Both coaches have similarly downplayed the incident. Bengals coach Zac Taylor said the teams "got a little scuffly" and McVay said he didn't know what the incident was about.
"I just see guys swinging and some guys have helmets on, some don’t, you just never know what can occur. My biggest concern is unnecessary injuries," McVay said after the brawl.
Donald won't have to worry about being disciplined by the NFL for his actions. The league cannot impose discipline for incidents that occur during practices. The responsibility is solely with teams.
Given the big upcoming matchup against the Bills, it is safe to say Donald won't be facing any sort of team-imposed suspension.
