Aaron Donald is Trending Toward a Monday Night Return, and the Bills Should Be Terrified

Sean McVay gave the most coach-speak answer possible this week, but the translation is terrifying for the Buffalo Bills: Aaron Donald is probably coming back.

When asked if his star defensive lineman would practice this week and play on Monday night, the Los Angeles Rams head coach told reporters that it was "the hope" and the direction things are "trending in." In NFL coach translation, that means the bad man is lacing up his cleats.

"Sean McVay on Donald's status: 'That's the hope. I don’t want to pigeonhole, but yeah, that’s the direction that it looks like it’s trending in.'"

The Rams are already riding high after grinding out a gritty 24-20 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Proving they can survive a dogfight without their best player is a massive confidence boost. Now they get to drop a generational defensive tackle back into the middle of their defensive line.

Meanwhile, the Bills are limping into this Monday night matchup after dropping a weird 29-26 game to the New England Patriots. The absolute last thing an offensive line wants to see after a frustrating loss is number 99 lining up across from them under the primetime lights.

Oddsmakers and bettors are going to have to bake Donald's return into the line immediately. A healthy Aaron Donald isn't just a standard roster upgrade. He is a one-man wrecking crew who alters game scripts, blows up totals, and makes opposing quarterbacks see ghosts.

We will get official practice reports later this week to confirm the progress, but Buffalo should probably start game-planning for the worst. If Donald is back on the field Monday night, the Bills' margin for error officially drops to zero.