Aaron Donald’s potential return to the Los Angeles Rams will not be decided while they are in training camp, but coach Sean McVay said the defensive lineman’s status is “going in the right direction.”
“If there’s an arrow, it’s trending upwards,” McVay said Friday following the Rams’ first practice in full pads.
The Rams are currently working out at Loyola Marymount University through Aug. 6, but McVay indicated any decision on Donald possibly ending his retirement would not come until they return to their facility in the San Fernando Valley.
“That’ll be something that, I think, once we get back to Woodland Hills, we’ll have a better idea of what that timeline looks like. There won’t be any decision and anything in terms of Aaron’s situation while we’re here. That’s kind of already been set out when we’ve talked for the past couple weeks,” McVay said.
Our Eric D. Williams reported in late July that Donald was leaning toward returning after multiple months of speculation. However, Williams added that Donald’s decision wasn’t imminent, and that the Rams didn’t place a time frame for him to determine whether he wants to return.
A three-time AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year and eight-time All-Pro, Donald retired in March 2024 as the Rams’ career leader in sacks with 111 in 154 games. One of the most disruptive linemen in league history, he helped Los Angeles win a title following the 2021 season. Donald made game-ending defensive plays in both the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl.
However, the Rams’ trade for defensive end Myles Garrett has seemingly tempted Donald to at least consider a return. The 35-year-old Donald was photographed working out at the team’s complex, and McVay has repeatedly expressed the organization’s interest in welcoming him back.
“Heck of a player, Hall of Fame player, one of the best to ever do it at his position,” said tight end Tyler Higbee, who was Donald’s teammate for eight seasons. “So, you know, we’ll see. I hope he does [return], but we’ll see. We’ll see.”
Garrett, on the other hand, passed on making a pitch to Donald when he spoke with reporters earlier in the week, but expressed a willingness to play with him.
“If he’s here, I’m going to be excited to be his teammate, his partner in crime,” Garrett said on Wednesday. “I think we’re going to do great things. But it’s a difficult thing, coming back.
“I think there’s a lot we can learn from each other. I’d love to pick his brain on the kind of things he does to attack his matchups, and I think the same could be said vice versa.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
