Bo Nix praises three-time DPOY Aaron Donald before primetime matchup

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix spoke after Wednesday’s practice about facing Aaron Donald, who will travel to Empower Field at Mile High for the Week 3 “Sunday Night Football” matchup between the Rams and Broncos. Donald came out of retirement on August 30, signing a one-year, $20 million deal to rejoin the Rams after stepping away from football following the 2023 season.

The three-time Defensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl LVI champion did not travel with Los Angeles for their season opener against the 49ers in Australia, but he made his 2026 debut in the Rams’ 28-6 rout of the Giants on Monday night, logging three tackles and a tackle for loss on 32 defensive snaps.

With one game now under Donald’s belt, his first live action since January 2024, Nix isn’t expecting a rusty version of the future Hall of Famer.

“For a guy like that, that’s played so much football at a dominant level. If anything, he could be better, because he got some good rest,” Nix said.

Nix didn’t hide the fact that going head-to-head with a player of Donald’s caliber carries a certain weight to it.

“It’s exciting to play the greats. It always is,” Nix said. “I know he’s a really good football player, and he’s gonna provide a challenge that we haven’t necessarily faced before.”

In Week 2, the Rams posted a 66.7% pass rush win rate against the Giants, their highest mark in any game since Week 11 of the 2022 season.

None of that seems to rattle Denver’s third-year signal caller.

“He’s literally one of the best at his position all-time. You don’t play those many Sundays,” Nix said.

He acknowledged that Donald is likely still ramping up after the long layoff, but made it clear he’s not banking on that.

“He’s gonna be a good player, he’s gonna play more and more as the season goes with rep count. I’m sure he’s just getting back in the swing of things. But, a dominant player for a long time. And so, honestly, don’t expect anything different. We just gotta limit the time he’s dominant.”

Sunday’s primetime matchup kicks off at 6:15 p.m. MT on NBC, with both teams sitting at 1-1 and looking to gain early-season momentum. For Nix, the task is simple, respect the legend across the line of scrimmage, and then go try to beat him anyway.

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