Aaron Donald’s return to the Rams has already hit its first speed bump.
Just two days after coming back, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year was absent from Monday’s practice, and Los Angeles is now openly leaving the door open for him to miss the season opener in Australia against the San Francisco 49ers.
Rams coach Sean McVay said the plan all along was to ease Donald back in, which is why the defensive tackle sat out Monday’s session.
“Aaron not being out there was part of the plan all along, so that was par for the course,” McVay said after practice.
Donald had worked out on his own for the past two months, but the 35-year-old is still building toward football shape. That means the Rams are trying to balance how quickly to push him with what he can realistically handle right now.
“I know it is annoying as hell just saying, 'We're taking it a day at a time.' But it is a unique thing,” McVay said.
“This has never been done before. I think him being able to help guide us and then being able to trust [Senior Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance Reggie Scott] and what we think is best for the ramp up is what we're going to do.”
Asked directly whether Donald could miss Week 1, McVay didn’t close the door.
“Oh, yeah, absolutely. That could be a possibility,” McVay said of Donald not playing in Week 1.
“I wouldn't rule anything out yet. I think sometimes when you put unnecessary parameters or guidelines on something it can skew things.”
The Rams are scheduled to head to Melbourne next week, and the timing matters. If Donald isn’t going to be active, Los Angeles would rather not send him on a 15-hour flight for nothing.
“If he's not ready and that is not what is best for him and for the team, absolutely wouldn't have him play in Australia unnecessarily,” McVay said.
For now, the Rams want to see Donald on the practice field before making any final call. He hasn’t played in an NFL game since January 2024, and he spent the last two years in retirement before returning.
“The first step was, 'all right, if you're coming back let us do that, let us get you out on the practice field,'” McVay said Sunday. “'Let us get you acclimated to your teammates to your coaches,' and then we'll see what that ramp up period looks like whether or not he is available or whether or not we think it is best to be able to play him in Australia.”
Donald, for his part, didn’t sound like someone ready to force the issue.
“I need to be at the level that I want to play at and that's all I can do,” Donald said Sunday. “Ain't rushing [anything]. Like I said, just continue to stack them days and see where we [are] at.”
His revised contract appears to account for this exact kind of uncertainty. Donald signed a one-year, $30 million deal that includes $10 million in bonus money tied to whether he’s on the active roster each week. That bonus pays out at a rate of $666,667 per game for a maximum of 15 games, so missing Week 1 - or sitting out Week 18 if the Rams rest starters - would not affect his chance to collect the full $10 million.
The Rams still have time before they need to settle on his status. The 49ers leave for Australia on Sept. 2, while the Rams won’t depart until next week, giving McVay and Donald a few more days to figure out whether he’s ready to go.
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