Aaron Donald is set to make his second debut with the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night, when they host the New York Giants at SoFi Stadium, ESPN reports. This will be his first action since reversing his retirement earlier this fall to rejoin the team.
Late last month the Rams and Donald agreed to a one-year, $20 million contract to bring him back. Donald had stepped away in 2024 and missed the last two seasons after a decade with the franchise that selected him 13th overall in the 2014 draft when the team was still in St. Louis.
A dominant interior rusher across his career, Donald has amassed 111 sacks and recorded 53 total tackles in 2023, and he was a cornerstone of the Rams’ 2021 Super Bowl run. He said he had been maintaining a strict training regimen for months before the comeback was announced and has been ramping up since. He did not travel to Melbourne for the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers, staying in California to continue preparing. Coach Sean McVay had previously suggested Donald would be ready “sooner rather than later,” though he could not put a precise timeline on it.
That extra week proved sufficient. The Rams, coming off a rough 27-7 loss to the 49ers, will be without fellow pass rusher Myles Garrett for about a month after Garrett was placed on injured reserve following knee surgery; Garrett, acquired in a high-profile trade with the Browns this offseason, had no tackles in that opener. While Donald won’t entirely replace the production Garrett offers, his return gives the Rams’ defensive front a significant lift at an important moment — the longtime standout is finally back on the field.
Fan Take: Aaron Donald’s comeback matters because adding a generational talent to the defensive front immediately raises the Rams’ pass-rush ceiling and makes them more competitive in a tough division. More broadly, his return highlights how veteran comebacks can shift team trajectories and fan expectations, and it’ll be fascinating to see if other teams pursue similar veteran reunions.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
