Latest / The Rand Report: Sports / Cousins Grabs the Jersey, Donald Stares Down Retirement

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Cousins Grabs the Jersey, Donald Stares Down Retirement · The Rand Report: Sports

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  Football is back, and already the first real
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  tests are showing who still competes and who
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  still needs permission. Welcome to the RAND Report.
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  I'm Jim Rand, two stories that cut through the
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  noise this week, not the soft camp fluff, not
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  the carefully worded coach speak, the ones with
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  actual edge. Start in Las Vegas, Friday practice,
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  final team period. Max Crosby has been physical
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  all camp. He tips a Kirk Cousins pass at the
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  release point. Then he makes contact again on
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  the throwing arm. Cousins has had enough. The
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  37 year old quarterback gets in Crosby's face,
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  grabs the jersey, words are exchanged, teammates
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  step in and separate them. No punches thrown,
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  but the message was delivered in front of the
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  entire team. The next day, both players are held
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  out of team drills. Coach Clint Kubiak said they
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  violated team rules. Clear expectations on how
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  the Raiders want to practice. They didn't meet
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  them, so they sat. Kubiak told the media they
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  addressed it with the team and they are moving
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  on. Both are expected back on the field Monday.
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  That is the part a lot of people will miss if
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  they only see the highlight of the scrap. Cousins
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  is the opening day starter. He is the veteran
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  bridge for the number one overall pick, Fernando
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  Mendoza. Mendoza, the Heisman winner out of Indiana,
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  already got first team work on Saturday while
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  the two veterans sat and looked sharp. Touchdowns
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  to Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer, and Trey Tucker.
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  But all camp, the starter has taken the bulk
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  of the first team reps. And when the edge rusher
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  started treating him like a practice dummy, the
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  quarterback refused to accept it. That is not
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  fragile. That is leadership. A 37 year old quarterback
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  who has been written off more times than most
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  players get chances still has the edge to confront
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  one of the most physical defensive players in
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  the league in front of everyone. Kubiak called
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  them two leaders going at it. He is right. Then
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  he held them both accountable the next day. Also
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  right. Soft environments produce soft results.
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  Competitive environments produce competitors.
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  Cousins just reminded everyone which one the
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  Raiders are trying to build under a new coaching
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  staff. The veteran did not ask for special treatment.
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  He demanded the standard that keeps a team sharp.
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  Second story sits on the other side of the country.
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  Aaron Donald. 35 years old. Two full seasons
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  away from the game after retiring following the
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  2023 season. Still working out, still flying
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  his trainer across the country, still putting
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  himself through football specific sessions with
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  the Rams. A formal workout happened, the decision
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  is expected soon, possibly by the end of this
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  week. If he comes back, he would join a defensive
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  front that already added Miles Garrett. That
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  is not a marketing line. That is two generational
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  disruptors on the same defensive line. Donald
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  has made it clear he does not want to return
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  as a limited version of himself. He wants the
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  full version or nothing. That is the only way
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  this makes sense for a player of his caliber.
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  Most players who step away for two years stay
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  away. The body changes, the speed of the game
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  changes, the fire has to be rekindled on purpose.
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  Donald is still testing whether that fire is
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  still there at a level that meets his own standard.
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  The Rams are Super Bowl contenders either way
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  with the pieces they already have, but a healthy,
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  motivated Aaron Donald changes the conversation
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  from contender to favorite in a lot of rooms
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  around the league. It also forces every offensive
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  coordinator on the schedule to redraw their protection
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  plans and game plans for the entire season. This
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  is the part that matters more than the exact
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  timeline of the decision. Donald is not chasing
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  attention. He is not chasing a farewell tour
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  or a last paycheck. He is deciding whether he
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  still needs to compete at the absolute highest
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  level. That decision only belongs to him. But
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  the fact that he is still putting himself through
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  the work, flying people in and testing his body
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  tells you the competitor has not fully shut the
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  door. Two different stories, same core. Cousins
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  refused to accept soft contact from a teammate
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  in the middle of a practice period. Donald is
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  refusing to accept an incomplete version of himself
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  after two years away. One is 37 and still starting
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  and still setting the tone. One is 35 and still
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  deciding whether the fire is hot enough. Both
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  are operating from the same place. The game still
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  demands something real from them, and they are
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  still willing to answer that demand instead of
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  settling. That is the standard. Not the press
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  conferences, not the carefully managed narratives.
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  The willingness to still compete when it gets
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  uncomfortable and when the easier path is available.
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  This has been The Rand Report. I'm Jim Rand.
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  Less hype, more truth, until next time. Keep
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  competing.