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The much-anticipated return of Aaron Donald to the Los Angeles Rams that NFL insiders have reported is quite likely isn’t ready to happen, according to coach Sean McVay.
And he doesn’t sound certain whether it will. Or won’t.
McVay was asked for an update on the possible return of the 10-time Pro Bowl player and three-time Defensive Player of the Year after the Rams played their first preseason game on Saturday.
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Sep 26, 2021; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams defensive end Aaron Donald (99) celebrates after a play in the second half of the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at SoFi Stadium. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports)
McVay told reporters he didn’t want to say a lot about that. Then he delivered 361 words on the topic.
We counted.
Yes, that’s a lot but it all boils down to this: “We are not at that point quite yet,” McVay said.
That may sound a bit surprising because we’ve read multiple reports that Donald is coming back or would announce his intentions to do so once the Rams returned to their training facility in Woodland Hills on Aug. 7.
One report, meanwhile, made the point it’s not quite so simple.
This space reported on Aug. 5 that “there’s a catch for Donald: He wants to be close to if not as good as he’s always been. He doesn’t wish to look diminished in what could then be portrayed as a selfish chase for a Super Bowl ring rather than a valuable addition to a Super Bowl contender.”
McVay confirmed that on Saturday night.
Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald plays against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Nov. 26, 2023. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports)
“I think he earned the right to be able to say he knows himself in terms of, ‘Am I able to stack back-to-back days? Am I able to do some of the different things?’ Some of those benchmarks that he set out for himself,” McVay said.
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Again, the Rams want Donald to return. He obviously would like to return if and when his 35-year-old body that has been away from the game since 2023 cooperates.
But to say it is a certainty is incorrect.
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay walks on the field at Lumen Field after the 2026 NFC Championship Game against the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle, Washington, on Jan. 25, 2026. (Kevin Ng/Imagn Images)
“If he puts himself in a position where he says yes or no, I think he has earned the right to have clarity on that,” McVay said. “We are not at that point quite yet.
“I am hopeful that it will be sooner rather than later, but I also want to respect when he does feel that clarity will come, I think there is a chance we will be closer to that than not but, again, I don’t want to say too much or put some sort of invisible deadline on something that doesn’t exist in my mind for him.”
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