The more time passes by, the more likely it looks that Aaron Donald will make his grand return to the NFL.
After retiring from the league in 2024 at the age of 32, Donald has been toying with the idea of a return to the Los Angeles Rams, where he won a Super Bowl ring in 2021.
The now-35-year-old was in the Rams facility on Wednesday as he continues to weigh up the decision of whether he could give everything necessary to go all in on playing another year in the NFL.
Due to using equipment that belongs to the Rams, the team were required to report his visit as a “tryout,” with the news sending stirs around the league.
“Did it come across as a tryout?” McVay asked NFL Network. “Best tryout we’ve ever had.
“I think he could make the team.”
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While McVay appears to be quietly confident of securing Donald’s return, his wife Erica has added fuel to the fire with a cryptic social media post.
On Wednesday, Erica took to X where she wrote, “Yall gotta start getting this stuff right 🤦🏾♀️🤣”.
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What that means, at this moment, is anyone’s guess.
A three-time AP Defensive Player of the Year, Donald wanted to get to grips over how he would fare wearing the helmet after a two-year absence.
“That was honestly our way of being able to get a workout with him within the parameters of what’s necessary,” McVay told NFL Network.
“[Defensive line coach] Giff Smith said it’s the greatest tryout he’s ever had.”
Donald played 10 seasons, all with the Rams, after being selected out of Pittsburgh with the 13th overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft.
He made the Pro Bowl every single year, and was also named an eight-time First-team All-Pro, retiring with 111 career sacks.
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Why is Donald considering coming out of retirement?
So why could Donald be considering a return to playing football?
The most obvious answer is that the Rams look primed to once again reach the Super Bowl, which will take place on their home turf of SoFi Stadium for the first time since they won the championship back in the 2021 season.
Of course, that is because Los Angeles went out and got business done in the offseason, pulling off the most seismic trade of the summer by acquiring two-time DPOY Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns, mere months after he set the single-season sack record.
While quarterback Matthew Stafford is 37-years-old, the future Hall of Famer is ageing like a fine wine, having won his first MVP award last season.
They also have a mixture of experience and elite-level talent on both sides of the ball, including Davante Adams and Puka Nacua on offense, and championship-proven defenders in Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson
Should Donald decide he doesn’t want to return to playing, though, other options to remain in football may present themselves, especially in the media space following reports that he had signed with Jon Rosen’s management team at Envisionary.
There is also a docuseries reportedly in the works that he is heavily involved in.
