Back in June, after the Los Angeles Rams traded for Myles Garrett, rumors of a potential Aaron Donald comeback tour emerged from the shadows. Not long after, Donald spoke to ESPN’s Pat McAfee about trying to re-ignite the “fire.”
It’s been nearly two months since the trade, and now that Rams training camp is underway, some are wondering what the story with Donald is.
Rams GM Pours Fuel on Aaron Donald’s NFL Comeback
Donald has sat out the past two seasons. He’s now 35 years old. Yet, some would argue he went out on top, recording eight sacks, which is great production for a defensive tackle.
So, is the 35-year-old in or out?
Rams general manager Les Snead just addressed the latest on Donald in an appearance on ‘The Jim Rome Show.’ While doing so, he mentioned the possibility that Donald is ready to scratch the “itch.”
“I don’t want to make a prediction,” Snead said. “What I can say, though, is this is probably the first time since he’s retired that he is truly tempted, that maybe the itch is back and he wants to scratch it. When that final whistle blew in that year when we were Super Bowl champions, it was so fulfilling to see how much it meant to Aaron Donald. That’s all he ever wanted.”
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Snead went on to note that it’s “really cool” that the Rams have built up a roster that’s so tempting, that Donald is compelled to make a comeback bid.
“It is really surreal and interesting and really cool to think, ‘Oh wow, he is tempted to come back and jump back on the bus and try to go do something meaningful one more time,'” Snead said.
Then, the Rams’ GM got into what it would take for Donald to finally say he’s ready to put on his pads and officially re-join the team.
He acknowledged that Donald may get to a point where he decides to put an end to the comeback bid altogether.
“I think he would articulate it this way: how close is he to who he was when he did retire?” Snead added.
“Let’s say there’s a scale of 1-to-10, and we all said he was a 10. Maybe we all said 12 out of 10; that’s just who he was. I know this, he would want to be as close to that 12 as possible. His personality, if it was a 12, if he came back and felt he was only going to be a 10.8, he might not do it.”
“This is probably the first time since he’s retired that he has truly tempted, that maybe the itch is back and he wants to scratch it.”@RamsNFL GM Les Snead on the possibility of Aaron Donald coming out of retirement in 2026. pic.twitter.com/4XmaqWTUXo
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) July 27, 2026
The decision is entirely up to Donald. The Rams are clearly willing to welcome the future Hall of Famer back with open arms; the question is whether he feels his body is ready to roll.
