Week 2 on the Giants’ schedule already looked tricky. Now it looks a whole lot nastier.
Aaron Donald is coming back for the Rams, announcing that he is unretiring to play for Los Angeles in 2026. That puts one of the NFL’s most feared defensive tackles back in the mix, and it means the Giants will have to deal with him sooner rather than later. New York faces the Rams in Week 2.
Donald is 35 and retired after the 2023 season, but there wasn’t much drop-off in his game before he stepped away. Mina Kimes pointed out that he still led all defensive tackles in pass rush win rate even with teams constantly sending double teams and triple teams his way.
What Donald has left after two years away from football is the unknown. Still, it would be a mistake to assume he won’t be a problem. Even in a reduced role, he figures to be a dangerous rotational pass rusher.
And the Rams didn’t exactly need help creating havoc up front. Their defensive front was already stacked after the trade for reigning DPOY and single-season sack king Myles Garrett. Now Garrett and Donald will line up with defensive tackles Braden Fiske, Kobie Turner, and Poona Ford, plus starting edge defender Byron Young.
There is one possible break for the Giants: the Rams have to travel back to Los Angeles from their Week 1 game in Australia. No team has ever done that before, so there’s no real way to know how it will affect recovery or preparation.
Even with that, New York’s offense is going to have its hands full. The Giants will likely need to get creative to get the ball safely out of quarterback Jaxson Dart’s hands, while also helping interior linemen Jon Runyan Jr., John Michael Schmitz, and rookie Sisi Mauigoa.
And if the Giants are going to hang around, they may need their own defense to help keep Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford from turning the game into a shootout.
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