Wade Phillips will have his full defense, minus Aaron Donald

Shrouded in injury-depleted mystery during the preseason, a near fully stocked Rams defense will finally be on display in Sunday’s season opener against the Indianapolis Colts.

Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is as curious as anybody.

“I’m just waiting to kind of see how we do,” Phillips said Thursday. “I think there’s going to be good things.”

Phillips, 70, brought his trademark 3-4 scheme to the Rams but has not been able to truly evaluate it.

Starting linebackers Robert Quinn and Mark Barron and cornerback Kayvon Webster were held out of preseason games to make sure they would be physically sound for the opener. Others such as lineman Michael Brockers and linebacker Connor Barwin were limited to two games.

And then, of course, there is the Aaron Donald situation. The star lineman did not participate in offseason workouts, did not report to training camp and remains a holdout because of a contract dispute.

Phillips, in his 40th NFL season, has experienced similar situations as a head coach and coordinator.

“It’s disappointing that he’s not here for whatever the reasons are, but I’ve been through it before too,” Phillips said. “You’ve got to play with the guys you have.

“We believe that we can play well and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

Sean McVay continues to say that he will not rule out Donald possibly playing against the Colts, showing the first-year coach is no novice when it comes to the sometimes laughable aspects of NFL gamesmanship.

Phillips has coached multiple Hall of Fame players and such current NFL stars as Houston Texans lineman J.J. Watt and Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller.

If and when Donald returns, Phillips will coach him the same way.

“You give them the opportunity to do what they do well,” he said, adding, “you’ve got to put them in a position to be able to utilize their talent, is all you have to do.

“That’s not real hard.”

gary.klein@latimes.com

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