Myles Garrett’s trade from the Cleveland Browns to the Los Angeles Rams caused a frenzy in the NFL community to the point where attention is turning to Aaron Donald. The trade strengthens the Rams’ chances of winning the Super Bowl, and people around the league quickly started speculating about Donald’s potential return to the Rams.
Myles Garrett Trade Sparks Calls For Aaron Donald To Come Out of Retirement
Amid trade speculation, Garrett broke into the headlines on Monday as the Browns sent the two-time Defensive Player of the Year to the Rams in exchange for draft capital and Jared Verse. Garrett now joins one of the most elite defenses in the NFL, boasting players like Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Quentin Lake, and Byron Young.
LA’s offense, featuring MVP Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua, already clocked a 92.3 PFSN Offense Impact rating in 2025, which was best in the league. Now, it’ll have an even more dangerous unit on the other side of the ball.
Talks of how good the defense can be this year poured over into further speculation about who else the team could add. The NFL world, on one hand, was quick to call for three-time Defensive Player of the Year Donald to come out of retirement to join what already looks to be a rockstar defense.
“Aaron Donald can do the funniest thing,” former wideout Chad Johnson suggested the Super Bowl champ un-retire.
“Wonder if Aaron Donald is bored with retirement,” analyst Ian Hartitz posted.
Aaron Donald seeing Myles Garrett get traded to the Rams pic.twitter.com/yqxtBAqFgQ
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) June 1, 2026
“What’s Aaron Donald up to?” football host Brett Kollmann asked.
“I don’t care if Aaron Donald is 35 and hasn’t played in two years – him next to Myles Garett would be must-watch TV every single snap,” Boston sports host Alex Barth wrote.
“Aaron Donald owes it to science to unretire and line up next to Myles Garrett just to see what would happen,” NFL analyst Sam Monson said on X.
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Donald averaged 12.3 sacks per season across 10 years in the NFL. Getting anything close to that would be a big win for the Rams if he comes back.
Before Garrett’s trade to the Rams, Donald asked whether he would fancy a return to the NFL, but he said, “I have no urge to play football.” However, things can change very quickly for current and former NFL players.
We asked Aaron Donald if he’d come out of retirement and return to the Rams
His answer is pretty clear ⬇️ https://t.co/xZ7jd4jrA1 pic.twitter.com/edXC15tTKv
— Not Just Football (@NotJustFootball) June 1, 2026
Donald averaged 11.1 sacks per season across 10 years in the NFL. Getting anything close to that would be a big win for the Rams if he comes back.
