LOS ANGELES — Three weeks is a long time.
The last three weeks for the Rams have been a whirlwind of extremes.
Aaron Donald returned, setting the stage for the defensive lineman’s rare return from retirement after hanging up his cleats following an already illustrious, future Hall of Fame career. Excitement about the Rams, betting favorites for the Super Bowl, reached preseason extremes following his Aug. 30 announcement.
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And then came the hurt: more than 30 hours in the air – to Melbourne, Australia and back – with a 27-7 defeat to the San Francisco 49ers smack dab in the middle last week. Edge rusher Myles Garrett, the Rams’ prized offseason acquisition and a benchmark addition for a team searching for its first Super Bowl since 2022, underwent knee surgery Monday and will be out for at least the next four games.
Garrett’s off the board for defensive coordinator Chris Shula. But Donald may be back on the board, saying Friday afternoon that he plans to make his debut Monday night against the New York Giants at 5:15 p.m. in the Rams’ home opener at SoFi Stadium.
“That’s the plan,” Donald said when asked if he plans on play again Monday.
Donald was then asked if that was his plan, or a team-wide expectation: “That’s all of our plan. We’ll have a conversation, we’ll figure it out, but I’m feeling really good. I feel a lot better now that I’ve got more practices under my belt instead of one. So, I’m kind of getting in the groove of things.”
Donald’s return could be the impact add the Rams need to wipe the slate clean and erase the bitter taste of losing their season opener. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year didn’t travel with the Rams for their Melbourne opener, with the Rams publicly ruling him out last Tuesday before their flight to Melbourne.
Without Garrett, Donald said he and the defense are ready to step up until Garrett’s able to return to action. He let out an expletive when asked about his reaction to his star teammate, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year’s injury, before turning to the positives where they may be.
“I think we’ve got a great defense, a great team, a lot of great pieces,” Donald said. “Obviously, I would love for him to be out there, but he won’t be gone forever. … (We’ll) hold it down while he’s gone.”
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When Donald returned to the Rams on a one-year deal, the NFL provided the Rams with a commissioner’s exemption for Week 1. That exemption has now expired, meaning Donald is on their 53-man roster whether he plays Monday or not.
“It’s always a day at a time,” Shula said of Donald, who practiced in full Thursday and Friday. “It was nice to have him out there yesterday taking his reps, and we’ll kind of see how practice goes today and take it from there. But we’ll have a plan either way.”
Shula, like Rams coach Sean McVay said Thursday, wouldn’t commit from a coach’s perspective to Donald playing. When asked if Donald looks like a player who is ready for in-game reps, Shula declined to say, adding that he’s “going to keep that in house.”
“But I will say AD is the ultimate professional,” Shula said. “Obviously I was here with him as a position coach (linebackers and defensive backs) and he’s the ultimate professional. He loves being coached, he loves playing hard, he just loves being one of the guys and wants to be one of the guys. He doesn’t want any type of special treatment. And not that we expect anything different, but it is really cool to see.”
Shula continued: “He’s a great all-around teammate.”
Donald, however, already appears ready to go.
“I feel like I was just here last year,” Donald said. “I really feel that way. Sometimes I’ll be like, ‘Damn, I didn’t play football in two years.’ But being here, being out there again, you kind of forget that I wasn’t playing football for two years. I feel like I’m implemented right back, like I never left.”
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