Rams News: Jared Verse & Kobie Turner Wanted To Put On Show For Aaron Donald

The Los Angeles Rams honored franchise legend Aaron Donald during their Week 12 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, giving out bobbleheads with him in attendance.

With Donald watching on, there naturally was a little extra motivation for the Rams players, and they channeled that energy to cruise to an easy 34-7 victory over the Buccaneers.

The Rams defensive line had four sacks in the game, two each from Jared Verse and Kobie Turner. Those are the two players that Donald has mentored in recent years and Verse admitted they wanted to put on a show for him, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:

“I feel like we definitely did (put on a show for him),” Verse said postgame. “I feel like we left a lot of plays on the field. B.Y.’s sack that got called back, we gotta be better on the back end, but on the front end, I’m not gonna hold myself irresponsible either. There was a couple sacks I had (that) I could enter the game with probably about four or five if I just did my job. So we all gotta be better.”

Turner also spoke about the big night for the Rams’ defensive line after feeling they missed some the week prior:

“I mean, we were really able to get after the passer,” Turner said. “I thought that there were some opportunities last week that we got after him a little bit, but where we really needed to finish a little bit stronger, and he (Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold) was able to get the ball out a little faster, too. Today, he (Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield) held on to the ball a little bit more, and when that happens, the rush has to come alive. So cannot be prouder of our front. I can’t have two sacks unless the rest of the guys are doing their job. We can’t have the individual success that we have, unless the rest of the team is doing it.”

Verse never played with Donald but notably worked out with him this past offseason after calling him out. The two have since built a strong relationship and Verse discussed what Donald would have told him on Sunday night:

“I feel like he gonna tell me, ‘You gotta make the rest of the plays,’” Verse said. “He gonna tell me straight out, like, ‘You had a couple more that you could have had if you just held it down a little bit more. But I think he’ll give me my grace, too.”

The way the Rams have rebuilt their defensive line since Donald retired has been nothing short of amazing, and Verse and Turner have both players key roles in that.

Sean McVay discusses what makes Aaron Donald special

Ahead of Aaron Donald’s celebration, his former head coach Sean McVay discussed what makes the Rams legend so special.

“What’s really special about Aaron is the amount of work and time that he put in,” McVay said. “And when you can really hear him say, ‘I’m full. I’m complete,’ and how content he is, whether that be going back to what he did at college, getting his number retired at Pitt was pretty special. Then to be able to get recognized I was so fortunate to be with him for the amount of time that I was, but what a unique human, what an amazing father, husband and son.

“He’s just all about the right stuff. I think the best example of leadership is seen, not said. He knew when to say the right things, but he just modeled the way every single day. It’s really easy to be able to show what it looks like when you can just reference stories of somebody that a lot of our guys have played with that epitomized those things, stayed humble, was always willing to be coached, demanded to be coached, was a great man in terms of his values and character that he had.

“I love that guy and what he meant to me. Like I’ve said, the most important thing was he let me into his life and you got some insight into knowing what really mattered to him, but he sure was a hell of a football player too. I’m damn grateful and there are a lot of blessings that have come my way because I was fortunate enough to be able to coach him.”