LOS ANGELES -- Rams coach Sean McVay said he doesn't expect defensive tackle Aaron Donald to decide about coming out of retirement until after the team returns to its facility on Aug. 8, but McVay noted that "things are going in the right direction."
The Rams spend the first portion of their training camp at Loyola Marymount University before returning to their practice facility in Woodland Hills, California. Their last practice at LMU is scheduled for Aug. 7.
"There won't be any news on that front until we get back to Woodland Hills," McVay said Friday. "We've loosely had some different timelines that are kind of temporary. I want to keep those between us just if something unforeseen happens, out of respect for him and the situation. But I know this: Things are going in the right direction. And if there's an arrow, it's trending upwards."
Last week, McVay said Donald, who retired in March 2024, is going through a "very strict, regimented process" to decide whether he wants to play this season. McVay said Donald is seeing how his body responds to that training in preparation for making a decision.
Donald's potential return came up after the Rams traded for reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in June. McVay said last week that he and Donald first had a conversation about the possibility because he had reached out for Donald's opinion when the team was discussing the Garrett trade.
On Wednesday, Garrett said he doesn't want to influence Donald's decision but added that if the defensive tackle comes out of retirement, he thinks the pair "can do great things."
"If he's here, I'm going to be excited to be his teammate, his partner in crime," Garrett said Wednesday. "And I think we can do great things, but it's a difficult thing coming back, and I know he has a family. He has a lot of decisions to make."
Donald holds the Rams' franchise record for career sacks with 111 when he retired after the 2023 season.
