Aaron Donald called it a career after the 2023 season, but many Los Angeles Rams fans continue to believe the franchise legend could eventually return. Meanwhile, NFL insider Ian Rapoport provided an update on when Donald could potentially decide to come out of retirement.
Ian Rapoport Drops Key Timeline Update on Aaron Donald’s Potential Return
Speculation about Donald’s potential return from retirement to help the Rams make another Super Bowl run first intensified in June, when Pat McAfee revealed a text exchange with the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year following the Myles Garrett trade. Rapoport reignited the rumors, saying there is a “real possibility” Donald decides to suit up again.
During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Rapoport also shared his expectations for when a comeback could happen.
“My guess would be probably the middle or late into the training camp,” Rapoport said. “Like that’s what it sounds like to me. If he does come back, he is gonna spend time by himself, doing what he needs to do, the football stuff he can kind of get as we get a little closer.”
Donald was also recently spotted training at the Rams’ facility in a video that quickly went viral. ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported that Donald informed the Rams he wanted to return to the team’s facility to work out and evaluate how his body responded before making any decision about a comeback.
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If Donald returns after two seasons away from football, he would reunite with a roster that looks much different from the one he left, as just six teammates are still around from his final NFL season. It proves how dramatically NFL lineups change from one year to the next, as Byron Young is the lone projected starter remaining from the 2023 lineup.
The good news is that the Rams have boosted their defense in a major way by acquiring Garrett from the Cleveland Browns. Garrett is coming off a historic 2025 season in which he recorded an NFL-record 23 sacks, earning the No. 1 ranking in PFN’s EDGE Impact metric with a 95.1 grade.
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Pairing Garrett’s elite edge-rushing ability with Donald’s interior dominance on passing downs would create one of the league’s most intimidating defensive fronts.
Donald stepped away from the game in 2024, two years after establishing himself as the cornerstone of the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI championship defense. He earned first-team All-Pro honors for the eighth time in his final season and finished with 8 sacks. He also dominated the virtual gridiron, remaining a 99 Overall player in Madden for seven consecutive editions.
From Madden NFL 18 through Madden NFL 24, Donald was a member of the game’s prestigious 99 Club each year. No player has ever accumulated more than 99-rated seasons. So if he can regain anything close to that form, opposing offenses would once again face one of football’s most disruptive forces.
