Aaron Donald Works Out for the Rams in Latest Step Toward a Comeback
The three-time Defensive Player of the Year formally auditioned for his old team Wednesday as he weighs ending a 2 1/2-year retirement.
LOS ANGELES — Aaron Donald formally worked out for the Los Angeles Rams on Wednesday, presumably one of the final steps before the defensive tackle decides whether to end his 2 1/2-year retirement.
Donald, 35, took part in a hosted workout with the Rams, according to the league's official transaction wire, which records such sessions with free agents ahead of possible signings to NFL rosters.
He has been training at the Rams' Woodland Hills complex and at home for several weeks in an attempt to get back into NFL shape. The team has emphasized that it is willing to wait indefinitely for his decision, though coach Sean McVay has voiced cautious optimism in the past week about the prospect of pairing Donald with Myles Garrett on what would be a remarkable defensive line.
"If there's an arrow, it's trending upwards," McVay said last Friday.
McVay indicated the Rams do not expect a decision until after they wrap up training camp at Loyola Marymount University this week. The team plans to reconvene in Woodland Hills on Saturday for its first post-camp practice.
Donald retired somewhat abruptly in March 2024 after a decorated 10-year career spent entirely with the Rams. He won the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award three times and collected eight All-Pro selections, 10 Pro Bowl selections and a Super Bowl ring.
He apparently began entertaining the idea of a comeback early last month, after the Rams traded for Garrett, one of the few contemporary players regarded as his peer. Garrett, 30, won two of the last three Defensive Player of the Year awards in Cleveland, where he earned five All-Pro nods and seven Pro Bowl selections and set the NFL's single-season sacks record last year.
"If he's here, I'm going to be excited to be his teammate, his partner in crime," Garrett said last week. "I think we're going to do great things."
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