Aaron Donald returned to the Los Angeles Rams’ practice field on Sunday after coming out of retirement, but coach Sean McVay says the team is yet to decide when the defensive tackle will make his comeback.
Donald initially retired in March 2024 after 10 seasons in the NFL, but agreed to a one-year deal worth $20m with playoff incentives that could take the total value to $30m.
The 35-year-old’s return comes less than two weeks before the Rams open their season against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia.
McVay said the Rams will take their decision over Donald’s availability “one day at a time” and are still considering whether it would be best for him to play in the opener.
The coach’s first question to Donald when discussing Week 1 was whether he actually wanted to play.
“If the answer is yes, then what does that ramp-up look like?” McVay said.
“What does it look like for you to even … he did some individual stuff, but what does it look like to get you into team settings, taking on double-teams, doing the things that are required of you playing this game?”
What a day. 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/Yatg3Z9Rdf
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 31, 2026
Donald said his decision to return had been a long process which began around 13 or 14 weeks ago.
“Obviously, seeing what was being done with this team, pieces that was getting brought here. It’s like, ‘OK, that’s a complete team,'” Donald said.
“And then you see other moves they make and it’s like, ‘OK, I wish I was still out there playing right about now.'”
Aaron Donald: Partnering with Myles Garrett
The arrival of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, who joined the Rams in June, also helped spark conversations about a potential comeback.
Garrett and Donald now give Los Angeles two of the NFL’s most dominant defensive players on the same roster.
Since double-team rates began being tracked in 2017, only three players have recorded a season with at least 20 sacks. Donald is one of them, having registered 20.5 sacks in 2018 despite being double-teamed on 64% of his pass-rushing snaps.
Donald said his preparation for the comeback had involved “13, 14 weeks of just nonstop grinding”.
“It really wasn’t an easy decision,” he said.
“It took a lot of hard work, a lot of long conversations with a lot of different people but felt good enough to make the decision to come back and do this.”
Donald admitted he had been “on and off for a while” over whether to return, but knew around two weeks ago that he wanted to make his comeback.
“Just wanted to take my time and make the right decision because once you choose to come back, you all the way back in,” he said.
“Can’t be halfway in, got to be all the way in it.”
You Should Also Read
