Getty Aaron Donald during the July 29, 2022 Rams training camp in Irvine.
Aaron Donald hasn’t been known throughout his career with being a major talker. However, the Los Angeles Rams All-Pro and Super Bowl champion is vocal about one thing: His disdain for the San Francisco 49ers.
Except, the Rams’ newest $95 million defender helped spark a response from one of the faces of the ‘Niners who just signed his blockbuster $73.5 million extension to remain in the Bay Area — and help fuel this new chapter of the Rams and 49ers rivalry.
What Sparked the Latest Words in This Rivalry
A fully padded Donald helped spark the latest word exchange while in front of the NFL Network cameras on “Back Together Saturday” on July 30.
Donald, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, let it be known to both Andrew Siciliano and Maurice Jones-Drew (who are also part of the Rams’ preseason coverage) that he has no love for the 49ers.
“I dislike the Niners. Everybody knows that. I don’t like the Niners at all,” Donald told both.
“A.D” also knows that the 49ers feel the same way about the Super Bowl 56 champions.
“They don’t like us. It’s just the rivals,” Donald said.
Donald then verbally illustrated what contests between the 49ers and his team are like when they clash on the field.
“Every time we play, it’s a dog fight, and that’s how it is,” Donald said. “No love at all towards them guys. I really dislike them, and we’ll see them twice this year.”
“I don’t like the Niners at all. They don’t like us.”
“No love at all towards them guys. I really dislike them.”
One more from @AaronDonald97, stating the obvious.
❓from @MJD @nflnetwork
But that only prompted a response from the 49ers’ “wide back” Deebo Samuel.
Samuel Clapped Back
Samuel got his chance to clap back when the NFL Network crew set up their spot in Santa Clara and sat down to discuss the rivalry between the 49ers and Rams. The 2021 All-Pro’s response was?
“Our team don’t really feed into all the junk talking,” Samuel told Tom Pelissero and Jones-Drew.
But Samuel dove further and how they choose to respond to the 49ers’ name being mentioned.
“We put the pads on. We go out there and do what we do, even though we fell short one game (last season). But it is what it is,” Samuel explained. “We’re not a team to go out in the media and be like, ‘Who is this person? What this person do?’ We just put the pads on and go to work.”
Catching up with Deebo Samuel today at #49ers camp about the contract, Trey Lance and more on @nflnetwork @MJD
Samuel & Donald: A History
It’s certainly not the first time both were involved with some words that spread across social media.
Back in 2020, Donald was asked by the L.A. media about how do the Rams stop a “unique player” like Samuel on the field…which only prompted a “Who? Who’s that?” response from A.D.
Samuel, though, threw shade online twice to Donald, the first one via his Instagram stories before that November game that reminded who was the currently leader in the series between the 49ers and Rams. Then the other coming after the 49ers swept the regular season series versus the Rams, with Samuel posting a Gif of a frustrated Donald throwing his helmet to the Levi’s Stadium grass as his way of mocking him.
Samuel even ripped the “Rams House” after the 49ers’ epic Week 18 win of the 2021 season to clinch the final playoff berth, telling the Bay Area media “I feel like the Rams pump noise because there wasn’t really that many Rams fans in here.”
The 49ers, though, fell in the third meeting in front of their sea of fans that helped fill SoFi Stadium for the NFC title game. The fact that both teams enter this season with two of the more complete rosters in the league further fuels the newest chapter of this L.A. versus S.F confrontation.
“It’s a big rivalry,” Samuel admitted to the NFL Network. “That’s one of them physical games you know you got to get ready for.”