Despite his return, Los Angeles Rams defensive end Aaron Donald may not play in Week 1.
There is a lot of excitement for the return of Los Angeles Rams defensive end Aaron Donald, and rightfully so. The future Hall of Famer officially ended his retirement on Sunday and has been added to the final 53-man roster.
Despite the return, Donald's return does not guarantee that he will be ready to play during Week 1. Head coach Sean McVay spoke to the media and admitted that the team will still take things slowly to determine if the defender will be ready to go to Australia.
McVay has always been one for not overpromising anything, and that is especially true in this case. Donald may have stayed in amazing shape, but that is clearly different than football shape.
In the midst of his return, Donald also told NFL insider Jordan Schultz that he has been steadily training his body to see if he could make a return.
"I’ve been working the last 12-13 weeks to train my body and get it to a point where I felt like I could still play the game at a high level and be durable," Donald told Schultz.
What makes this comment significant is that it does paint the reality of where the Rams defensive end currently may be physically. Donald is coming off a two-year layoff, which is a long time to be away from football.
It may take even longer for the defensive end to get his body back into true football shape, which is why McVay also does not want to rush the process.
"It's gonna be a day at a time for us," McVay said of Donald returning. "... If you're coming back, let's do that, let's get you on the practice field. Let's get you acclimated to your teammates, to your coaches, and then we'll see what the ramp-up period looks like. Whether or not he's available or whether or not we think it's best to play him in Australia."
Donald has a lot of work to do, which is why he told Schultz that he has been training his body over the past 12-13 weeks. Despite staying in great shape, he must get back into the swing of playing football regularly.
It may take a lot more time for that to happen, and the Rams certainly do not want to rush him back.
The last thing that McVay and the coaching staff need is to push Donald back too soon, and he suffers some sort of injury that halts or completely ends his return to the NFL.
Week 1 is a tough matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, but the Los Angeles defense already has a stacked roster with Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, Byron Young, Quentin Lake, Trent McDuffie, and so much more.
Los Angeles doesn't necessarily need Donald, though he is sure to change the makeup of the defense in a significant way.
There was always a plan in place to consider both the outcomes of Donald coming back or not coming back, as McVay admitted before the announcement of his return.
That said, the Rams may simply want to wait a bit, especially considering the trip to Australia might take a lot out of every single player. He may miss the first week, but the defensive end could be plenty ready to go by Week 2 or 3, giving the defense another strong All-Pro talent to utilize.
