LOS ANGELES — Aaron Donald wants in on the fun.
And who could blame him?
The Rams received a commitment from Donald – the longtime steward of their tantalizing defense since the franchise’s return to Southern California in 2016 – to play alongside Myles Garrett in a two-pronged attack that should strike fear in not just the Seattle Seahawks and rest of the NFC West, but the entire NFL.
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Donald, who announced his retirement in March 2024, is joining the Super Bowl favorites for the 2026 season, the team announced on Sunday afternoon before the team’s 53-man roster became official. First reported by ESPN, Donald returns to the Rams on a one-year, $20 million deal with incentives that can climb as high as $30 million.
The Rams selected Donald with the 13th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft after he starred at Pittsburgh. In 10 seasons with the Rams – the first two when the team was still based in St. Louis – Donald won three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards, becoming just the third player to do so. A 10-time Pro Bowl selection, Donald helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI and retired with 111 sacks and 176 tackles for loss.
Donald, 35, who would have been eligible to be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2029, will now have his clock reset for a potential induction in 2032 should he retire once again following the conclusion of the playoffs in February 2027.
Donald’s return to the NFL has been speculated about for some time.
The rumors gained steam in early July when the 6-foot-1, 280-pound defensive lineman – his listed weight as of the end of the 2024 season – was spotted working out at the Rams’ Woodland Hills practice facility. He officially worked out for the franchise during their training camp on Aug. 4 at Loyola Marymount, per the league’s transaction wire – a visit the Rams were required to report because Donald used team equipment during a test of football readiness.
Rams head coach Sean McVay had mentioned during their time at LMU that the team and Donald had been in constant communication about his training – adding that they had dates in mind for when a decision would be made.
Since training camp ended, Donald worked out alongside current Rams defensive linemen Braden Fiske and Desjuan Johnson in Woodland Hills with a personal trainer. Donald worked out once more for the Rams on Aug. 15 while the team was playing the Kansas City Chiefs in their preseason opener.
Donald’s decision might seem anticlimactic – following more than a month of McVay’s enthusiasm during interviews about Donald’s “very strict, regimented process” in his attempt to return – but the impact will be felt across the league with the Rams already considered one of the Super Bowl favorites even without Donald.
Playing alongside Garrett, who the Rams acquired in a stunning offseason trade with the Cleveland Browns, Donald will likely see the fewest double- and triple-teams of his career. If his dominating ability remains intact, opposing offenses will be losing sleep trying to game plan for the duo.
“If he’s here, I’m going to be excited to be his teammate, his partner in crime,” Garrett said on July 29 when asked about the possibility of Donald’s return. “I think we can do great things (together).”
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Before adding Garrett, the Rams already improved their defense with a trade for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie and the signing of cornerback Jaylen Watson – both of whom won a pair of Super Bowl titles with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Throughout training camp, Donald’s new and old teammates shared their enthusiasm about the idea of a player of his stature returning to the Rams.
“It’ll be awesome. … Honestly, my first year here, I probably blocked him one time correctly,” offensive lineman Steve Avila said on July 25.
Outside linebacker Byron Young said Donald was “one of the greatest to ever do it,” while outside linebacker Nate Landman said Donald’s “reputation speaks for itself.”
Tight end Tyler Higbee, now the Rams’ longest-tenured player, said July 31 that he hoped Donald would return, calling him a “Hall of Fame player.”
“One of the best to ever do it at his position,” said Higbee, who the Rams drafted two years after Donald.
Rams general manager Les Snead had been aggressive in his attempts to improve the roster after the team lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seahawks in the NFC championship game last season.
Snead reaffirmed quarterback Matt Stafford as the team’s signal caller through 2027 with a one-year, $55 million contract extension. Then came the additions of Garrett, McDuffie and Watson.
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Donald is an exclamation point to the roster tune-up – as large as one gets.