A return to Los Angeles is suddenly back on the table for Aaron Donald.
Vincent Bonsignore of the California Post, citing multiple league sources, reports that the former Rams defensive tackle is seriously weighing a comeback this season after retiring in June of 2024. The possibility has picked up steam in recent reporting, with Donald said to be drawn to the chance to chase a Super Bowl while lining up next to DE Myles Garrett.
Bonsignore also says Rams head coach Sean McVay has kept in touch with Donald throughout the summer in an effort to recruit him back.
That follows an earlier report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who said there is significant momentum around the idea of Donald returning after three seasons away.
“The idea here is, Donald himself has floated that he could potentially return to Los Angeles,” Schefter said. “He’s thinking about it.
Training camp is getting closer next month. They’d have to come up with a plan for him to bring him back.
But where else right now would Aaron Donald be more wanted, more celebrated, more respected than in the Rams locker room, where Myles Garrett is already waiting for him? Again, no decision from Aaron Donald and we’ll see whether the two sides can get it done, but there seems to be a lot of momentum to the idea that this is certainly possible.”
If Donald does decide to return, the Rams still hold his rights.
Donald, 35, retired after a decorated 10-year career that began when the Rams took him in the first round in 2014 out of Pittsburgh. He was in the final year of his four-year, $10.136 million rookie deal when Los Angeles exercised his fifth-year option for 2018, a move that cost the team about $6.892 million.
The Rams later locked him into a six-year, $135 million extension in August of 2019, complete with a $40 million signing bonus and $86,892,000 guaranteed. After the 2021 season, Donald agreed to a $40 million raise with three years still left on his deal, which carried base salaries of $9.25 million, $14 million and $14 million.
Across 154 games, Donald piled up 543 tackles, 111 sacks, 24 forced fumbles, seven recoveries and 21 pass defenses. He was an 8-time All-Pro, a 10-time Pro Bowler, a Super Champ and a three-time defensive player of the year winner.
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