LOS ANGELES — Aaron Donald has returned to the Los Angeles Rams, ending his retirement after 2 1/2 years to join Myles Garrett on their defensive line.
The Rams announced the 35-year-old Donald’s decision Sunday following several weeks of discussion, preparation and intensive workouts for the star defensive lineman.
Donald became one of the greatest defensive players of his era during his first 10 seasons spent entirely with the Rams in St. Louis and Los Angeles. He won three AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards while earning 10 Pro Bowl selections, eight All-Pro selections and a Super Bowl ring before he retired somewhat abruptly in March 2024.
After two years in retirement with his family, Donald began to entertain the notion of a comeback after the Rams traded for Garrett, one of Donald’s few peers in contemporary defensive line play. Donald and Garrett have combined to win five of the AP’s past nine Defensive Player of the Year awards, including two of the past three for Garrett with the Cleveland Browns.
Donald’s return adds another force to the Rams’ stacked roster as they attempt to win their second NFL title during coach Sean McVay’s successful decade in charge. Los Angeles also added cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson from Kansas City to a defense that now looks more equipped to keep pace with the Rams’ offense, which was the NFL’s best last season and returns every major contributor around league MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford.
The decision resets Donald’s eligibility clock for his all-but-automatic induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he’s much more interested in seizing the strong opportunity to play for a second ring while lining up alongside Garrett and talented young contributors Byron Young, Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske on what should be an opponents’ nightmare of a defensive front.
Donald would have been eligible for the 2029 class in Canton, Ohio.
