It still seems inevitable that Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald will emerge from two years of retirement to play alongside Myles Garrett. But there has still been no announcement from Donald, which strongly suggests he has still not made a final decision.
His target has been shifting. It went from early this week (Monday-ish) to late this week (Friday-ish). Now that the weekend has arrived, Donald has yet to make a decision.
Donald wants to be sure that he’ll be the same guy he always was if he returns. But if Donald plans to make a firm and final decision before rejoining the Rams, he’ll need to make a projection as to whether his efforts to get himself in football shape will translate to dominance on the practice field, and eventually during games.
Donald won’t know for sure whether he can perform like he did until he tries to do it. And he seems to be taking as much time as he thinks he needs to decide whether, based on his workouts, he’ll be able to pull it off.
If he returns, the Rams would ramp him up in the same way they did after 2017 and 2018 contract-driven holdouts. With three weeks and five days until the Week 1 game against the 49ers in Australia, at some point there may not be enough time to get him ready to play.
There’s also the issue of a contract. Donald has one year remaining on the three-year post-Super Bowl deal that went into mothballs when he retired, at $30 million. The two sides will need to agree to payment terms and an acceptable structure for 2026 (if they haven’t already done so).
Until Donald decides to return, there’s a chance Donald won’t. At some point, the absence of a decision will become a decision, as it relates to Week 1 and, perhaps, Week 2 and beyond.
Donald could, if he chooses, let it ride all the way until the Tuesday after Week 13, the deadline for reinstatement from the reserve/retired list. Which would get him on the field just in time for the first of two showdowns with the Seahawks, in Week 15.
Regardless, Donald is taking his time to make a decision. And the Rams, who are already the favorites to win the Super Bowl without him, don’t seem to be inclined to force the issue.
