At the center of a large altercation between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams on Thursday during their joint practice, Aaron Donald appears to have over the line. On a practice video, Donald was seen swinging a Bengals helmet repeatedly at the participants in the melee while holding two of the helmets.
Even the sound of the helmet contacting another player’s helmet during a tense practice drill is audible. It was immediately compared to Myles Garrett hitting Mason Rudolph in the head with his helmet in 2020, which led to Garrett receiving a six-game ban; however, Garrett was later reinstated prior to the 2017 season.
Many supporters are requesting that Donald be suspended due to his conduct.
In fact, swinging a helmet in the direction of another player is unquestionably cause for a suspension. Whether it happens in a game or on a practice field, the play is hazardous.
But there was a distinction between Garrett’s and Donald’s occurrence. Even if Donald’s occurs during a joint session with another club, the NFL is not responsible for penalizing players because it happened during practice and not during a game.
Tom Pelissero, who believes a suspension for Donald is improbable, claims as much.
Given that the Bills are on the schedule in Week 1, it is unlikely that the Rams will suspend their star player. Even though his actions were extremely bad, it’s difficult to see the team suspending Donald. They could fine him and punish him that way.
The Rams are fortunate that this happened in practice and not during a game because Donald has a history of losing his composure on the field. He most certainly would have received the same treatment as Garrett had it occurred on game day.