Rams' Sean McVay Says Aaron Donald Return is 'Trending Upwards'

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay has been very forthcoming on information regarding the return of Aaron Donald. While he initially was a bit more coy and said "we have had conversations," McVay offered some more bigger updates.

During a media session following the Rams' training camp practice, the head coach all but confirmed that Donald could be returning. He did indicate that nothing would happen until the team returns to their Woodland Hills training facility, but everything is "trending upwards."

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"There won't be any news on that front until we get back to Woodland Hills. Um you know, we have some different things which you know I know I totally understand. What I don't want to do is put there's some conversations that we've had.

"We've loosely had some different timelines that are kind of temporary. I want to keep those between us just you know if something unforeseen happens out of respect for him and the situation but I know this you know that things are going in the right direction and um if there's an arrow it's trending upwards," McVay said. 

McVay also stated that the team will have a better timeline of what may or may not happen in the coming weeks.

Donald's return has been ongoing for weeks, as he initially stated that the addition of Myles Garrett pushed him into considering ending his retirement. He also indicated that he would find out if there was still a "fire" in him to play.

Following the bombshell announcement from Donald, he was seen weeks later at the Rams facility engaging in drills and workouts. McVay confirmed that Donald was putting his body through the kinds of drills and training that he would need to see if a return would be possible.

Even though Donald remains in excellent shape, and has showcased that in many workout videos, football shape is a completely thing entirely.

Donald retired in 2024 and has not played over the past two seasons. Regardless of staying in shape, not playing football for that long would impact anybody.

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Donald is also not a player who would take a return lightly, and he would give it his all. Playing all 17 regular season games, including the presumed playoff appearance for the Rams, would be a lot for the defensive end to take in.

That is not to say that Donald could not handle it, but he is seeing if he is ready for that return. Previous to the Garrett acquisition, the future Hall of Famer stated that he was completely content without playing football again.

Now, Donald has gone through the whirlwind of emotions regarding a return. 

The Rams are the current favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl come February, but a lot still has to go right for the team to make it. Still, having Garrett certainly helps their chances, but adding Donald to that defense could just push Los Angeles over the edge.