Sean McVay Says Aaron Donald's Rams Return Is 'Trending Upward'

Throughout training camp, there has been growing speculation about Aaron Donald returning to the Los Angeles Rams. While there hasn’t been a timeline as Donald continues to workout and get his body in football shape, head coach Sean McVay provided an encouraging update on Friday.

Sean McVay Offers His Most Encouraging Aaron Donald Update Yet

Every indication up to this point has been that Donald will return to the Rams. Following McVay’s press conference on Friday, that appears even more to be the case.

“Here's what I would tell you. There won't be any news on that front until we get back to Woodland Hills,” said McVay. “But I know this, things are going in the right direction and if there's an arrow, it's trending upwards. I think once we get back to Woodland Hills, we'll have a better idea of what that timeline looks like.”

According to McVay, there won't be any news regarding Donald's decision until the Rams return to Woodland Hills. That would mean that a return during training camp isn’t going to happen. If Donald does decide to return, it will be after training camp.

No Decision Until Rams Return to Woodland Hills

A return during training camp always seemed unlikely. It always made sense for Donald to use this time to continue getting in football shape on his own and see how his body reacted. While there was some belief that Donald might return during the second week of training camp, that no longer appears to be the case.

The Rams are currently holding training camp at Loyola Marymount. Their final practice at LMU will take place on August 6 with their first preseason game taking place on August 15 against the Kansas City Chiefs. If Donald ultimately comes back, it would likely happen sometime between... when the Rams wrap up training camp and Week 1.

This has undoubtedly been the strongest update from McVay yet when it comes to Donald. Just on Tuesday, McVay said that he’d only had conversations with Donald and there were no new updates. It seems there has at least been some progress since then.

What Donald's Return Would Mean for the Rams

If Donald does decide to return, the Rams would need to figure out his contract situation. After retiring in 2023, Donald left $30 million on the table. The Rams have paid out the guarantees, but he is still owed the base salary if he were to come back. As it stands, the Rams only have around $15 million in cap space. The Rams would need to figure out something that works for both sides and potentially re-work other contracts to open up cap space.

At this point, it feels as if a Donald return is inevitable. It may not happen during training camp, but Donald could return and integrate into the team once the Rams conclude training camp at Loyola Marymount and return to Woodland Hills.

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