LOS ANGELES — Aaron Donald returned to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, ending his retirement after 2 1/2 years to chase another Super Bowl title.
The 35-year-old Donald made his decision after several weeks of discussion and nearly three months of intensive workouts for a former star who reigned as the best defensive lineman in the NFL in a Rams uniform from 2014 until his retirement in early 2024.
Donald joined a light practice at the team’s training complex later Sunday, shaking hands and exchanging hugs with edge rusher Myles Garrett and the rest of his teammates, both old and new.
While he hasn’t decided whether he will play for Los Angeles in the regular-season opener against the San Francisco 49ers, which is less than a week and a half away, Donald is eager to complete a comeback that seemed improbable only three months ago.
“Do I feel like I can play at a high level? Yes,” Donald said. “Do I feel like I can still be myself? 100%, and if I didn’t feel like that, I wouldn’t be here.”
Donald agreed to a one-year contract, and ESPN reported he will make at least $20 million in an incentive-laden deal.
The No. 13 pick of the 2014 draft after being an All-American at the University of Pittsburgh, he became one of the greatest defensive players of his era during a decade spent entirely with the Rams in St. Louis and Los Angeles. He won three NFL defensive player of the year awards while earning 10 Pro Bowl selections, eight All-Pro selections and a Super Bowl ring before he retired somewhat abruptly after the 2023 season.
After two years of tending to his business interests and enjoying ample family time, Donald began to entertain the notion of a comeback this summer after the Rams traded young lineman Jared Verse in a deal for Garrett, one of Donald’s few peers in contemporary defensive line play.
“I already thought it was a stacked D-line with Verse … and then you bring a guy like Myles Garrett, a generational talent, and then it’s like, ‘Gosh, that could be fun,'” Donald said with a grin.
Donald and Garrett have combined to win five of the past nine NFL defensive player of the year awards, including two of the past three for Garrett with the Cleveland Browns. While Garrett said he wouldn’t attempt to influence Donald’s decision, the two have exchanged numerous text messages while Donald went through the training necessary to become his teammate.
With reigning 38-year-old quarterback Matthew Stafford, the reigning NFL MVP, returning to lead the league’s most productive offense, Los Angeles was already the betting favorite in most sportsbooks to win its second Super Bowl title under coach Sean McVay even before Donald’s comeback. Along with Garrett, the Rams added cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson from the Kansas City Chiefs to a defense that now looks more equipped to keep pace with the Los Angeles offense, which returns every major contributor around Stafford.
“I think this is a complete team with me here or without me here, so for me to even have the opportunity to be a part of this, to be with this team, I take nothing for granted,” Donald said. “It’s a blessing to be retired from the game for two years and then have the opportunity to come back and be a part of something special.”
McVay has seemed confident for weeks that Donald was leaning toward a return. Donald said he finalized his decision to return about two weeks ago after being in almost daily contact with McVay for several weeks.
“He means a lot to me, and it’s way bigger than football,” McVay said. “There’s a lot of history. There’s a lot of experiences that we’ve shared, a lot of love for each other’s families. I’m excited to start this journey.”
Donald, listed at 6-foot-1, 285 pounds, stayed in decent shape during his retirement, and he was pleasantly surprised by the way his body responded to its return to NFL-level training. He also said his famed defensive line technique hasn’t declined.
“I’ve been in a football mindset for the last 14 weeks,” Donald said. “If anything, it’s just getting back on the grass and knocking the rust off as far as playing football again, 11 on 11. Work on my eyes, getting the feel for the game, certain reaction things that made me who I am. I put myself in the best position the best way I can with training to get to where I’m at now.”
Donald’s 111 career sacks are a franchise record for the Rams and the second most in NFL history among linemen who primarily played on the interior. His ability to generate a pass rush between the tackles is the primary basis of his greatness, but Donald also was a run-stuffer whose agility and technique forced defenses to double-team him regularly, freeing up his teammates to excel.
The decision resets Donald’s eligibility clock for his all-but-automatic induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he’s much more interested in seizing the strong opportunity to play for a second ring while lining up alongside Garrett and talented young contributors Braden Fiske, Kobie Turner and Byron Young on a defensive front that should be a nightmare for opponents to face.
Donald joins a significant group of recent NFL stars who have ended retirements and returned to this punishing sport, including quarterback Philip Rivers, running back Marshawn Lynch, tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Jason Witten. Also on that list is Eric Weddle, the safety who came back from 2 1/2 years away and joined Donald on the Rams’ short-handed defense for the team’s playoff run to 2021 NFL season’s title.