Aaron Donald hasn't put on a Rams uniform since he walked away in March 2024, but he never really left the conversation. Now, with training camp underway at Loyola Marymount, the question everyone in L.A. wants answered is back on the table: is one of the greatest defensive linemen ever coming back to football?
Sean McVay confirmed Donald is working out on his own to put himself in position to actually make the call.
According to McVay, this isn't a light jog-and-see situation. Donald is reportedly going through a strict, regimented training process similar to what he did every year he suited up, per multiple reports out of camp. That's notable because Donald doesn't do anything half-speed -- if he's grinding like it's a normal offseason, that's a real signal he's at least seriously entertaining a return, not just fielding questions politely.
The timing lines up with the Rams' blockbuster trade for Myles Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, back in June. Donald reportedly started ramping up his workouts not long after that deal, and it's not hard to connect the dots -- the idea of lining up next to a peer like Garrett, even at 35, is apparently enough to get Donald thinking about one more run.
Adam Schefter flagged additional reporting on exactly where Donald's decision-making process stands.
More about where Aaron Donald is in a potential return to the Rams, via @sarahbarshop: https://t.co/ewdedEmJNA
McVay has been careful not to promise anything, saying the team is taking it a day at a time and won't rush Donald into a call he's not ready to make. The retirement was Donald's decision to make on his own terms back in 2024, and it sounds like the Rams are letting him do the same thing in reverse now -- no ultimatums, no artificial deadline tied to camp.
There's also real money on the table. Because Donald retired before his contract officially expired, a return would reportedly trigger something in the range of $30 million owed to him -- a number that complicates things for a Rams front office that still has to build a roster around it. That financial wrinkle is part of why this isn't shaping up to be a snap decision, and why some reporting suggests Donald's timeline could realistically stretch past camp and even into the regular season.
For now, nothing is official. Donald is training, McVay is fielding daily questions he can't fully answer, and the rest of the NFL is watching to see if a top-5 all-time defensive player talks himself back onto the field. If it happens, it changes the calculus for the entire NFC -- a Garrett-Donald pairing is the kind of thing defensive coordinators lose sleep over.