There is another positive update on 49ers tight end George Kittle, who is recovering from a torn Achilles suffered in January.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Kittle visited surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles on Wednesday, and the result was encouraging. Kittle’s recovery process is considered ahead of schedule, and he now has a legitimate chance to play in the 49ers’ Week 1 matchup against the Rams in Australia.
Kittle is currently on the active/physically unable to perform list, so he hasn’t practiced during training camp. But he said within the last week that he’s confident that he will not remain on it to start the regular season, which would keep him out for at least the first four games.
The 49ers will have to take Kittle off of the PUP list by Aug. 30 to have him available to start the season.
Kittle tore his right Achilles in a Jan. 11 playoff game against the Eagles. He underwent surgery three days later, with ElAttrache, the Rams’ team physician, repairing the tendon.
Kittle made his seventh career Pro Bowl last season despite playing only 11 regular-season games due to hamstring and ankle injuries.
The Rams have reported a pair of workouts for Aaron Donald in recent weeks and there will likely be more to come before the defensive tackle makes a decision on playing in 2026.
Head coach Sean McVay said earlier this week that there was “nothing new” to report about where things stand with Donald. On Thursday, McVay was asked about the possibility that there will be more workouts coming before reaching a resolution.
“We’ll see,” McVay said, via Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times. “I would love to be able to have all this stuff figured out but . . . I know he’s feeling good, and I think he will continue to work out, and I’m hopeful that we’ll have some answers on that sooner than later.”
McVay and the Rams have resisted putting any deadline on Donald’s decision since the prospect of his return from retirement became a talking point in the wake of the trade for Myles Garrett. There’s no sign that their stance is changing even as it remains unclear when Donald will make up his mind.
The clock keeps ticking toward Week 1, and Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald has yet to decide whether he’ll be playing in 2026.
Asked by reporters on Tuesday for an update on Donald, coach Sean McVay said, “Nope, nothing new on him.”
The situation has prompted plenty of speculation. Not long ago, Donald’s return seemed to be inevitable. He has since shifted his target for making a decision at least twice, and McVay has made it clear that the Rams won’t be attaching an “invisible deadline” to Donald.
The only visible deadline is the Tuesday after Week 13.
Donald has worked out twice with the Rams in recent weeks, intensifying the notion that he’s on the brink of returning. But only Donald knows where he currently stands in his overall process of determining whether he wants to play — and why he’d be returning.
Is he chasing a ring? Does he simply miss it? Or is he interested in seeing how it feels to play without being constantly double- and triple-teamed, now that the Rams have Myles Garrett on the team?
The final outcome could take plenty of different forms. He could return in the near future and prepare to join the Rams for their Week 1 trip to Australia against the 49ers. He could kick the can until later in the season, waiting for confirmation that the Rams will be a high-end contender while hedging against the possibility that things won’t go as planned before officially committing.
The problem is that, until Donald emerges from retirement, he won’t be on the team. He could, in theory, be placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list or the Non-Football Injury list. That would allow him to be with the team but delay his debut.
Of course, Donald wouldn’t be able to practice until the Rams open the 21-day window for doing so. But he’d still be around, while working out on his own and waiting for the right time to start the three-week clock for moving him to the 53-man roster.
Then there’s the possibility that Donald won’t return at all.
The dilemma is a simple one. He wants to know he’ll be as good as he has always been. But he won’t know it with any real certainty until he practices or plays against other players.
Only Donald can resolve this question. And the only thing the Rams can do is move forward with the players they have, keeping the door open for a player who could possibly enhance their prospects significantly for the 2026 season.
The Rams have brought in a veteran receiver who started his career with the club.
Los Angeles announced on Tuesday that the club has signed Alex Bachman.
Bachman, 30, entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Rams back in 2019. But he was waived with an injury settlement in early September of that year.
Since then, Bachman has spent time with the Giants, Texans, and the last two seasons with the Raiders. In 2025, Bachman appeared in 13 games, with most of his snaps coming on special teams. He also caught two passes for 23 yards on three targets.
As a corresponding move, the Rams have waived receiver Mario Williams with an injury designation.
Aaron Donald had a second workout at the Rams’ team facility as he continues to decide whether to unretire. Coach Sean McVay was asked about the defensive tackle’s “tryout,” as it was designated on the NFL’s personnel notice Sunday, but didn’t allow much.
He noted that team personnel were present with team equipment, requiring the workout to be reported to the league.
“I’m not trying to be like, coy with it,” McVay said, Benjamin Royer of the ocregister.com. “It’s semantical. It’s part of his process that he’s going through. It just allows us to be able to use football equipment and it’s very similar to what the other workout was. . . . That was just another part of his process.”
Donald initially worked out for the Rams on Aug. 5 to evaluate how he felt.
It appears he has had other workouts at the team facility without team personnel present and without use of team equipment, via a video posted by 2Tenths Speed & Agility on Aug. 10. That would not require the Rams to report it to the league.
The three-time Defensive Player of the Year began considering a comeback after the Rams traded for two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett. He has not made a decision yet, and the Rams aren’t giving him any deadlines.
Donald, who has not played in the NFL since 2023, would appear to be leaning toward a return. Otherwise, it’s unlikely he would not continue to work out at the team facility.
