Why an Aaron Donald Return to the Rams Still Feels Unlikely

When the Los Angeles Rams traded for edge rusher Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns last week, the conversation immediately turned to what an Aaron Donald comeback would look like. Donald retired after the 2023 season and is now 35 years old. However, a defense with Garrett and Donald would still present challenges for opposing offenses. Garrett would also be the best player that Donald has ever played with and vice versa.

As cool as Donald returning to football would be, there are still several challenges. Even with all of the speculation, there are still several challenges. There’s little doubt that it’s at least being considered, but Donald is also someone who has consistently said that he feels “complete” and “full” about his career. Less than a month ago, Donald went on Cam Heyward’s podcast and said that he has, “no urge to play football.”

At the end of the day, Donald is 35 and hasn’t played football in two years. While Donald has more athleticism in his left pinky than most people, he’s not in football shape. There’s a big difference there. Additionally, the Rams could look to move money around, but they currently have $18 million in cap space. Currently, the Rams would be able to give Donald a $10 million contract at best. Donald made $28.5 million during his final season.

There may be a chance that Donald returns, but it still feels small. If he did return, coming back for a playoff stretch run makes the most sense. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer talked with Weddle about Donald and that’s also what he suggested.

“Now, if you say, 'Hey, come for this playoff run.' Yeah, why not,” said Weddle. “Maybe they'll have some type of agreement. Like, I could see them doing that, 'Hey, we'll bring you up the last quarter of the season just to get your feet wet, get you acclimated and then come playoff time, you're going to be rolling.' I could totally see that.”

That’s what Weddle did when he returned in 2021. Weddle retired following the 2019 season, but after injuries to Taylor Rapp and Jordan Fuller before the 2021 playoffs, McVay called him up to gauge his interest. After some convincing, Weddle returned.

It took some time for Weddle to get acclimated, but he played a key role in the Rams’ playoff run. At the same time, the physicality of the game took its toll. Despite slowly working his way back, Weddle maxed himself out. By the Super Bowl, Weddle had injured his hamstring and was playing with a torn pec.

“I think the biggest thing he would have to handle and adjust to is after that first time, after the first game, what your body feels like,” Weddle said. “Because you're basically training for those impact plays and getting fallen on and tackling people. You can't simulate getting double-teamed to the ground, or like you're underneath the pile of six dudes like those guys are a lot of the time, or running down and jumping for a tackle on the sideline and you're doing a somersault.

That would certainly be the biggest challenge for Donald. Again, there’s no doubt that Donald is in good enough shape. Last offseason, he trained with Jared Verse for a day and more than held his own. However, being in shape and being in football shape are two very different things.

Additionally, Weddle could control who he hit to an extent and wasn’t getting hit every single play. It’s also a different situation than Phillip Rivers who returned last year for the Indianapolis Colts. Rivers played the most protected position on the field.

That wouldn’t be the case for Donald who plays in the trenches on the defensive side of the ball. This is also something that Weddle mentioned, “He has to hit every single play. So much more physicality, shoulders, hips, punching, those types of things would be much more difficult.”

An Aaron Donald return is fun to think about, but it remains slightly unrealistic. There’s no doubt he is considering it and teammates and coaches are trying to recruit him to come back. However, Donald likely won’t be back for training camp. If Donald returns, maybe it’s for a playoff run. Still, this seems like something that’s fun to think about, but doesn’t end up coming to fruition.

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