The waiting game on a potential Aaron Donald return continues in Los Angeles, and while Rams coach Sean McVay said he would prefer the defensive tackle make a decision before long, he declined to put a timeline on an announcement one way or another.
Donald, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, has been considering a comeback since early June when the Rams traded for star edge rusher Myles Garrett. He worked out with the team on Sunday for the second time this month, suggesting he and the Rams are beginning to get a clearer picture of whether he could suit up in 2026.
“I’m hopeful that it will be sooner than later, but I also want to respect when he does feel like that clarity will come,” McVay said after Saturday’s preseason game. “I think there’s a chance that we’ll be closer to that than not, but I don’t want to say too much or put some sort of invisible deadline on something that doesn’t exist, in my mind, for him.”
Donald initially showed up at the Rams’ facility on Aug. 5. The team was required to report his activity on the NFL transaction wire because he used team equipment in their building during training camp. It was the closest thing to an official practice Donald participated in since he retired at the end of the 2023 season.
The workout videos Donald regularly posted to social media throughout his retirement showed that he remained in excellent shape during his first couple of years away from football. Still, he needs to demonstrate that, at 35, his body can withstand the rigors of playing as an elite defensive lineman. Every workout in Los Angeles is an additional data point in that regard. And if he proves to both himself and the Rams’ staff that he is up to the task, the team has made it clear they would welcome him back with open arms.
“If Aaron does decide he wants to do it, I’ve been very open that we want to try to explore that opportunity,” McVay said. “But I think he has earned the right to be able to say he knows himself in terms of ‘Am I able to stack back-to-back days? Am I able to do some of the different things?’ And some of those benchmarks that he’s set out for himself.
“What I don’t want to sit here and do is put a timeline on it, and then something comes up where I’ve got to push it back. What I have said with him; we have some loose things where we have identified dates that we would like to be able to hit. But what I don’t want to have is any sort of unnecessary pressure on him if there’s some unforeseen circumstances.”
The Rams’ defense already projects as a top-flight unit in 2026 following the Garrett trade and the additions of cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson. Adding arguably the greatest defensive tackle of all time back into the mix would only further solidify Los Angeles as the preseason Super Bowl favorite.
While it would be unfair to expect Donald to produce at the same level he did during his prime, anything close to that kind of output would be a boon to the Rams’ defensive front. The eight sacks, 16 tackles for loss and 23 quarterback hits he posted in his final season were far from career highs, but they were still good enough to earn Donald an eighth first-team All-Pro selection. If he could flirt with those numbers in a comeback season, the Rams would take it in a heartbeat.
