MELBOURNE, Australia -- The Rams haven't made a decision on whether Aaron Donald will play in the season opener against the 49ers, but San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said he has no doubt the defensive tackle will be out there.
When asked whether he expects Donald, who came out of retirement a week ago, to play in Week 1 against the 49ers, Shanahan said, "Oh yeah, definitely."
Shanahan joked he "wasn't crushed" last Sunday when Donald made the announcement, "because I decided a month ago it was happening."
"So I prepared for that the right way, and it is what it is," Shanahan said. "He's a hell of a player and we'll have our work cut out for him."
Donald returned to practice Sunday in Los Angeles. Rams coach Sean McVay said the Rams are "truly taking it a day at a time" with whether Donald will play in Thursday's game. McVay has been clear that he does not want to put a timeline on when Donald will play in his first game after coming out of retirement.
Shanahan said when Donald initially retired in March 2024, he heard cheers down the hallway of the Niners' team facility. He didn't know why there was cheering until he saw the alert announcing the future Hall of Fame defensive tackle was retiring after 10 NFL seasons.
"I was like, 'What the hell's going on?'" Shanahan said. "And then I got it on my phone and it was probably the most we've celebrated in the offseason ever.
"And then it was the exact opposite this year."
In 18 career regular-season games against San Francisco, Donald has 12.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.
Niners running back Christian McCaffrey called Donald "somebody you've definitely gotta plan for."
"He's a force, man," McCaffrey. "He's such a good player. Has been his entire career. When you're going through the scouting report, you gotta know where he is."
