How an Aaron Donald Return Would Impact the Rams' Salary Cap

Following the Los Angeles Rams trading for Myles Garrett, there has been endless speculation surrounding a potential Aaron Donald comeback. While Donald returning is exciting to think about, it’s a lot more complicated than him just coming out of retirement. Additionally, it’s still just speculation at this point.

“Donald hasn’t yet spoken publicly about a return, but he hasn’t put an end to the rumors, either,” said The Athletic’s Nate Atkins. “He has continued to post videos of the intense workouts he’s kept up in the two and a half years since his retirement, and on Tuesday, he posted a highlight clip from his Rams career to Instagram.”

For starters, Donald would have to file a formal reinstatement notice with the NFL Commissioner. Once he does that, he would still need to clear physical and medical evaluations before being added to the active roster.

Donald signed a three-year extension in 2022, putting him under contract through 2025. If he were to return to the Rams, it would be under a new deal. When Donald retired in 2023, the Rams still had to pay out his dead money for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. The financial aspect of this is where things get complicated.

Right now, the Rams have close to $19 million in cap space. Unfortunately, not all of that could be used on Donald. Due to practice squad elevations throughout the season, the Rams would need to save around $10 million heading into Week 1. It’s unlikely that Donald would return on a one-year deal worth $8 million. Despite the Rams continuing to pay Donald after his retirement, he doesn't owe them a discount on his next contract. It would still need to make sense financially.

The Rams could always move money to create more cap space. Adding void years to the end of a potential Donald deal is a possibility, or they can restructure another contract.

For example, if the Rams were to restructure Davante Adams’ deal, it could open up $11 million in cap space. They could do the same with Alaric Jackson’s deal and open up $9 million. However, that would also take away flexibility to cut Jackson after 2026 if they chose to take that path. Ideally, the Rams would like to stay away from touching Kyren Williams’ or Quentin Lake’s contracts, but a restructure is possible with them as well, saving $6 million.

It’s hard to know exactly the type of contract that Donald would command. Donald receiving top-10 defensive line money upwards of $23 million is unrealistic. However, Grady Jarrett signed a deal averaging $14.5 million last season. That certainly could be a possibility.

At the end of the day, if Donald wants to come back, the Rams will find a way to make it work. While they may not have the cap space right now, they can always structure things in a way so that it makes sense for both sides or restructure another contract to create space.Still, all of this is hypothetical until Donald decides to return. Once that becomes a reality, the rest will work itself out.

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