The Rams are still waiting on Aaron Donald, and the latest update from general manager Les Snead doesn’t exactly clear up the mystery. It does, however, give a pretty clear picture of how Donald is approaching the question: if he comes back, he wants to look like Aaron Donald.
In ESPN’s latest training camp notebook, Jeremy Fowler, Dan Graziano and Ben Solak dug into the uncertainty around Donald, who retired after the 2023 season. Snead told Fowler that he didn’t know what Donald would decide, but said the former star has been increasing both the frequency and the intensity of his workouts as he tries to figure out whether his body can handle another season and still let him play at the level that made him a legend.
“Whatever his rating was on Madden when he left,” Snead said, “that's what he wants his rating to be.”
Donald’s résumé already speaks for itself. He retired as one of the best defensive players in NFL history, with three Defensive Player of the Year awards and a Super Bowl championship from the Rams’ 2021 season.
The comeback chatter has only picked up because of how aggressively Los Angeles has reworked its roster this offseason. The Rams landed star pass rusher Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns in a blockbuster deal that included Jared Verse, then added Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie from the Kansas City Chiefs to bolster the secondary.
For now, though, Donald’s future remains undecided. Snead’s comments make one thing clear: the 35-year-old is still trying to answer the same two questions that matter most - whether his body can get through another NFL season, and whether he can still perform at the elite standard that defined his career. Madden NFL 27 is set to release on Aug. 13, which only adds a little more humor to Donald’s comeback measuring stick.
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