LOS ANGELES -- Aaron Donald was on the practice field Sunday after coming out of retirement, but Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay said the team has not determined when the star defensive tackle will play in a game.
Donald initially retired in March 2024 after 10 NFL seasons. On Sunday, he agreed to a one-year, $20 million deal with playoff incentives that can raise the total value of the deal to $30 million, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
McVay said the Rams are still determining whether Donald will play in the season opener and will take it "one day at a time" as they determine "whether or not we think it's best to be able to play him in Australia." The Rams open the season against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, in Week 1.
Donald called the decision to come out of retirement "a long process," one that began 13 to 14 weeks ago. During training camp, McVay said the Rams' trade for reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in June spurred conversation about Donald's possible return.
"Obviously, seeing what was being done with this team, pieces that was getting brought here. It's like, 'OK, that's a complete team,'" Donald said Sunday evening. "And then you see other moves they make and it's like, 'OK, I wish I was still out there playing right about now.'"
Donald said his training preparation was "13, 14 weeks of just nonstop grinding" to get to this point.
"It really wasn't an easy decision," Donald said. "It took a lot of hard work, a lot of long conversations with a lot of different people but felt good enough to make the decision to come back and do this."
Donald said though he was "on and off for a while" regarding whether he was going to come back, he has known for about two weeks that he wanted to return. But the defensive tackle said he didn't want to rush.
"Just wanted to take my time and make the right decision because once you choose to come back, you all the way back in," Donald said. "Can't be halfway in, got to be all the way in it. So, had to get to that point where I felt like I will feel like I'm 100% committed to playing football again because the last two years been amazing."
McVay said the first question he asked Donald when discussing his availability for Week 1 is whether he wants to play.
"If the answer is yes, then what does that ramp-up look like?" McVay said. "What does it look like for you to even ... he did some individual stuff, but what does it look like to get you into team settings, taking on double-teams, doing the things that are required of you playing this game that there's a physicality and there's an understanding that he has that's way more nuanced than I do. But it'll be something that we'll kind of feel out one day at a time, and I think that'll give us clarity as we just truly just stay in the moment and see what that looks like."
Donald is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, an eight-time first-team All-Pro, a 10-time Pro Bowl selection and the 2014 Defensive Rookie of the Year. The 35-year-old has 111 sacks, the second most among primary defensive tackles in a career (behind John Randle's 137.5) since individual sacks became an official statistic in 1982. He holds the Rams' franchise record for career sacks.
Even before Donald's return, the Rams were the favorite to win Super Bowl LXI, according to DraftKings. Los Angeles is the only team to enter the season with multiple players who won multiple Defensive Player of the Year awards, according to ESPN Research.
When Donald appears in a game, he will join Deion Sanders as the only players in NFL history to be a five-time first-team All-Pro, have a 750-day layoff and return to the NFL, according to ESPN Research.
Donald has spent his entire NFL career with the Rams, who drafted him with the No. 13 pick in 2014.
