sack

Aaron Donald has made no public pronouncements that he will remain retired or return to play for the Rams.

But the three-time NFL defensive player of the year and future hall of famer remains a hot topic, and Rams players are aware of the buzz.

“When you have a guy that’s that serious about even considering coming out, it’s like ‘OK, we might have a chance,’” safety Quentin Lake said Monday after the Rams completed an organized-team activity workout.

Chatter about Donald, 35, has been rampant since last week, when the Rams made another gigantic offseason move by trading for defensive end Myles Garrett.

The possibility of pairing Donald with Garrett — a two-time defensive player of the year — continues to intrigue both in and out of the Rams’ facility.

Like Lake, defensive lineman Kobie Turner insistently cautioned that whatever Donald decides to do or not do was his former teammate’s prerogative.

But the possibilities…

“To just have two historic, if you will, defensive players on that line together,” Turner said of pairing Donald and Garrett, “and to have the rest of us who are trying to build up our reputations, and to build to that level of greatness that they’ve been able to garner, I think that would be cool for L.A.”

Said defensive coordinator Chris Shula: “Would love to have him back — with open arms.”

Shula enters his third season overseeing a defense remade by the March trade for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, the signing of cornerback Jaylen Watson and the trade for Garrett.

With or without Donald, the Rams are regarded as a favorite to win Super Bowl LXI, which will be played in February at SoFi Stadium.

But the Rams are not hoisting the Lombardi Trophy just yet, Lake said.

“Some people say if he were to come back, just hand the Lombardi to us on a silver platter — but that’s never the case,” Lake said. “Is he a fantastic player? Yes.

“Are there so many things we could do in terms of pressures and blitzes and all that stuff? Of course. … It would be a fun year, I’ll say that.”

With quarterback Matthew Stafford — the NFL most valuable player — back to lead the offense, and McDuffie and Watson solving the team’s greatest weakness, the Rams already were regarded among the favorites to play in the Super Bowl for the first time since winning Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in 2022.

Then general manager Les Snead engineered the deal for Garrett, sending edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round draft pick and future second- and third-round picks to the Cleveland Browns for a player who has 125½ sacks in nine seasons.

Lake, Turner and Shula lamented losing Verse — “a brother for life,” Turner said — but they have welcomed Garrett.

“You give a great player to get a great player,” Lake said, “and luckily, we’ve got arguably the best defensive player in the NFL. … We’re not asking Myles to do anything but just be himself.”

Last season, Garrett amassed an NFL season record 23 sacks.

Rams defensive end Myles Garrett sits between Rams general manager Les Snead and coach Sean McVay, right, during a news conference on June 2.

(Ric Tapia / For The Times)

“We’re going to let him do what he does best,” Shula said, “and we all know exactly what he does best.”

McDuffie and Watson were part of Kansas City Chiefs teams that played in three consecutive Super Bowls, winning titles in 2023 and 2024. Those teams featured dominating pass rusher Chris Jones, so McDuffie knows how a player such as Garrett enables the defense to “flip the script” and attack offenses.

“You just talk about mentality,” McDuffie said, “and a swag.”

Donald, who has 111 sacks, would certainly add to that.

Not every player in their mid-30s could return and play at a high level after sitting out two seasons.

“I don’t think you do that if you’re a normal person,” Turner said, chuckling. “But A.D.’s not a normal person.”

The EFL’s commission said it was “deplorable” of the club to have used junior staff members to “conduct the clandestine observations”.

Solak admitted that such a culture was “unacceptable”, but he blamed “a huge amount of misunderstanding, ignorance and arrogance, we have dysfunctions in the club, but we will actually make an effort for people to understand that whoever orders them to do something, that is putting them out of their comfort zone, they have every right to refuse”.

When asked about the analyst intern who had been sent to spy on opposition training sessions, and who had been caught doing so at Middlesbrough, Solak said: “I don’t see really this culture when somebody is really making junior staff do something they don’t want.

“I believe that our junior intern felt personally it’s wrong, and he didn’t feel right for doing this, and I think he should have expressed that stronger. I’m pretty sure that if [he had] come to us, the top management, actually it would be the seniors who would be punished, not him.

“I have a lot of pity. I’m sorry for what he had to go through. And we obviously would like him to stay in the club and we offered him a prolonged job with the club.”

When asked how he felt about the club staff other than Eckert who were aware of the spying, Solak said, “This whole thing was happening within the environment of our analysts. I think we have a couple of guys that are foreign analysts, so for them you could say probably that they didn’t have a clue that this was against the rules. And then we have probably five or six British analysts. How come they either didn’t know or they didn’t tell? I don’t know. But this is something that will be additional soul-searching for us. Tonda came out and said ‘it was my mistake. Ultimately I did wrong.’ And by this action he gave time to everybody below him not to take investigation or punishment, in a way. But I am definitely very focused that we come to the understanding of this because this is the only way it will never happen again.”

It has been reported that some of Southampton’s players want to leave and may even consider taking legal action against the club over lost promotion bonuses. The team beat Middlesbrough over two legs to reach the play-off final, before they were ejected from the competition.

Solak said: “Honestly, it’s on them to decide. I had a very open conversation with them, and they were actually very nice. And you could see that they are hurting. But through that, they still behaved as gentlemen. You go through things, but life is fair.

“If you are a player of Southampton that really has quality to play in Premier League, I’m pretty sure you’ll play in Premier League this season or the next.”

The Rams were six yards from the Super Bowl.

The Rams’ celebrated young defense needed only to smother immobile Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold deep in his territory in the final five minutes to regain possession and have a real shot at winning last season’s NFC championship.

They couldn’t touch him.

For more than four minutes Darnold drove downfield, connecting on three of four passes, baffling the pass rushers, bleeding the clock, and by the time the Seahawks finally gave the ball back, the Rams had only 25 seconds to live.

Final score: Seahawks 31, Rams 27.

Final verdict: The Rams needed a closer.

The Rams needed somebody to chase Darnold into submission the way Aaron Donald once famously chased down Joe Burrow in the final seconds of Super Bowl LVI.

The Rams needed a closer the way the Dodgers needed Edwin Díaz.

The Rams needed … Myles Garrett?

Are you kidding me? They got him? He now plays for them?

The Rams needed an edge rusher and they acquired an edge destroyer? The Rams needed a veteran defensive lineman and they acquired a one-man defensive line?

The Rams needed a closer and here comes Mariano Rivera?

It’s all true. It’s hella crazy. It’s so Rams.

Myles Garrett points before a game between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 28.

(Jason Miller / Getty Images)

In their first blockbuster deal since the last one won them a Super Bowl — remember Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford? — the Rams pulled off another heist Monday in acquiring two-time defensive player of the year Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns for younger defensive star Jared Verse and multiple draft picks.

The Rams will miss the inspirational Verse, and one of those draft picks is a 2027 first rounder, and they’re once again dangerously mortgaging the future but … c’mon.

It’s Myles Garrett, people.

He treats quarterbacks the way Rams general manager Les Snead treats draft picks.

Crumple, discard, next.

He took what Deacon Jones invented and has done it better than anyone in history.

He’s a Fearsome Onesome.

Considering where he ranks in NFL history, the Browns just gave him away. Thank you, Cleveland. While you’re at it, can you take back LeBron?

Last season Garrett, who is still only 30, set the NFL’s single-season record for sacks with 23. He also owns the NFL record with six straight seasons of at least 12 sacks.

His career is filled with monster moments. In one game he had five sacks. In another game he had nine tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and a blocked field goal. In one season he had an NFL record 33 tackles for loss.

He’s also been the subject of a monster suspension, when the NFL kicked him out for the six remaining games of the season in 2019 after he pulled the helmet off Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and swung it at him, hitting him in the head.

Garrett later apologized while accusing Rudolph of precipitating the fight with a racial slur. Garrett’s claims were never proven, and he quietly rejoined the Browns for the 2020 season.

He’s not known for violence except if you’re holding a football. He’s not known for taking any plays off, even though he was so unhappy he requested a trade out of Cleveland. He’s largely stayed off the gossip pages, an absence which is about to end as he is dating Los Angeles local and Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim.

In all, Garrett is the one sweetheart of a player the Rams needed to complete their preparation for next Valentine’s Day 2027 Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium.

Matthew Stafford coming back? Check. He signed a contract extension.

Secondary help? Check. They added newly acquired All-Pro Trent McDuffie and his former Kansas City Chiefs running mate Jaylen Watson.

Nearly every other important player returning from a team that was arguably football’s best until that nail-biting loss to the eventual champion Seahawks? Check.

To all this, adding arguably the greatest edge rusher in history? Checkmate.

The Rams will miss Verse. The fans loved him, his teammates loved him more, and he was such a force after only two seasons he was considered the heir apparent to the retired Donald.

Two seasons ago he was the NFL’s defensive rookie of the year and last season he was widely lauded for his 7½ sacks.

But, um, Garrett had more than three times that many.

This sort of deal is what the Rams do when they think they are close to a championship. This is why they have become one of Los Angeles’ two most admired sports franchises.

They go for it. They push all their chips to the middle and they go for it. They realize this town won’t settle for anything less than championship effort so they go for it.

Rams general manager Les Snead walks on the field before a game between the Rams and New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium in November.

(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)

Some football executives are wary of criticism for trading draft picks. Snead wears T-shirts cursing those picks. Some football executives plan for the distant future. With the support of owner Stan Kroenke, Snead never looks past the next Sunday.

Way back when, some folks wondered about the wisdom of trading young and popular Goff and three prime draft picks for aging Stafford in March 2021. But the Rams knew Stafford was the closer they needed to win a Super Bowl.

And, yeah silly, they won the next Super Bowl.

In that way, this is much of the same deal. The Browns realize they’re not winning anything immediately and want to build for the future. The Rams were all too happy to give them that future for the Browns’ present.

And what a present Garrett will be, the gift that keeps on crushing, the crown jewel of a revamped defense that should make the Rams the preseason favorites to unseat the defending Super Bowl champions.

One of whom is undoubtedly listening.

Sam Darnold, you there?

Five-time Pro Bowl safety Derwin James and the Chargers have agreed to a multiyear extension.

The team announced the deal Tuesday. James was entering the final year of his contract, and general manager Joe Hortiz had said that keeping the five-time Associated Press All-Pro was a priority.

James has helped the Chargers’ defense rank fourth in the NFL in total defense over the last two years, allowing 304.8 total net yards per game. The team led the league in 2024 by allowing just 17.7 points per game.

James, who turns 30 in August, will look to replicate those numbers under first-year defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary, who took over when Jesse Minter was hired as head coach for the Baltimore Ravens.

He has started all 98 career regular-season games played, with 684 tackles, 19.0 sacks, 12 interceptions and 46 passes defensed.

Sources have told BBC Sport that Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, Fulham head coach Marco Silva and former Dortmund boss Edin Terzic are under consideration as possible replacements for Rosenior.

Iraola, 43, announced last week that he will leave Bournemouth at the end of the season, while Silva’s contract at rivals Fulham is due to expire in July. Terzic, meanwhile, was under consideration by Tottenham to replace Thomas Frank when the Dane was sacked earlier this season.

Calum McFarlane will take over as interim manager until the season of the season.

McFarlane, who was Rosenior’s assistant, was in charge for a 1-1 draw against Manchester City and a defeat at Fulham in January after previous boss Enzo Maresca was sacked.

“As the club works to bring stability to the head coach position, we will undertake a process of self-reflection to make the right long-term appointment,” Chelsea added.

Rosenior won five of his 13 games in the Premier League and led the Blues to four victories in the FA Cup – all against lower-league opposition – to reach the semi-finals.

McFarlane’s first game in charge comes on Sunday when Chelsea face Leeds at Wembley for a place in the FA Cup final (15:00 BST).

Chelsea only appointed Liam Rosenior in January, but the FIFA Club World Cup holders have lost their last five games.

FIFA Club World Cup champions Chelsea have sacked their head coach Liam Rosenior following a run of five consecutive defeats.

The 41-year-old had only been appointed as Enzo Maresco’s permanent replacement in January.

Rosenior, who started his managerial career at Derby County and Hull City in England, joined the west London club after two years in the French top flight with Strasbourg, where he won 51 of 63 matches.

Only 11 wins were secured in 23 games in charge of the Blues, however, and the recent run of losses also marked the first time the club had lost that number of games without scoring since 1912.

Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat at Brighton saw the side slip to seventh in the league, a hammer blow in the chance of qualifying for next season’s UEFA Champions League.

“Liam has always conducted himself with the highest integrity and professionalism following his appointment midway through the season,” Chelsea said in a statement.

“This has not been a decision the club has taken lightly, however recent results and performances have fallen below the necessary standards with still so much more to play for this season.”

Rosenior described the performance of his players in his final game in charge as “indefensible” and “unacceptable”.

Frenchman Herve Renard, who won AFCON with Zambia and Ivory Coast, departs Saudi role despite World Cup qualification.

Frenchman Herve Renard has been relieved of his duties as Saudi Arabia coach, less than two months before the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in North America.

The 57-year-old had returned for a second spell as Saudi coach at the end of 2024, having led them at the last World Cup four years ago in Qatar.

“That’s football … Saudi Arabia have qualified for the World Cup seven times, including twice with me,” Renard told the news agency AFP on Friday.

“And there’s only one coach who has led them through both the qualifiers and the World Cup; that’s me, in 2022. At least there will be that sense of pride.”

Renard, a two-time Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) winner with Zambia and the Ivory Coast, was in charge of Saudi Arabia from 2019 to 2023 before being replaced by Italian coach Roberto Mancini.

From 2023 to 2024, he served as coach of the France women’s team and reached the quarterfinals of both the 2023 Women’s World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Ex-Morocco coach Renard was later brought back by Saudi Arabia to succeed Mancini, as the Italian left his role after an underwhelming 14-month stint.

Former Greece international Georgios Donis is reportedly being lined up as the man to take over from Renard. A source close to the negotiations told AFP that talks are under way between the federation and Saudi club Al Khaleej, where Donis has been in charge since 2024.

Saudi Arabia are in Group H at the 2026 World Cup, alongside two former champions, Spain and Uruguay, and debutants Cape Verde. All their group games are scheduled to be played across the United States.

The Arab nation has made six World Cup appearances, with a round of 16 finish in 1994 in the US their best result thus far.

The Saudi team suffered a group-stage exit in the last World Cup in 2022, but made headlines worldwide with a shock 2-1 group win over eventual champions Argentina.

Saudi Arabia is also due to host the 2034 World Cup.