On Saturday, Aaron Donald worked out for the Los Angeles Rams for the second time this month. Donald, 35, became one of the best defensive tackles in NFL history across 10 seasons with the Rams before retiring in March 2024, so a tryout isn’t exactly necessary.
After the Rams acquired All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns in June, Donald began sparking speculation that he may come out of retirement to rejoin the Rams. The widespread expectation is that Donald will play for the Rams in the 2026 NFL season.
But as of this writing, Donald is not a member of the Rams, and his wife, Erica, has jokes. She added several laughing emojis to Polymarket Sports’ video of Carmelo Anthony’s “Pump Fake” meme with the message, “Aaron Donald to the Rams once a week,” reposting it to her Instagram Story.
Aaron Donald’s wife Erica via IG… 😭 pic.twitter.com/sbSyvaG6BN
— Rams Tapes 🇵🇷 (@RamsTapes) August 17, 2026
Rams head coach Sean McVay has admitted that the team is at the whim of Donald.
“What I don’t want is to sit here and do is put a timeline on it, then something comes up where I have to push it back,” McVay told reporters after the Rams’ preseason opener in Kansas City, per ESPN. “So, 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. 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.”
Upon retiring, Donald said he felt “complete.”
“I think the passion to play the game is no longer there for me,” Donald said at the time, according to the Rams’ official website. “I will always love football, but to think about going through another camp and another 17-(game) season, I just don’t got the urge to want to push myself through that no more. I’m burnt out.”
Two years away from football must have reignite Donald’s fire. The prospect of sharing a defensive line with Garrett — on an all-time talented team — while trying to win a second ring in Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles probably helped ignite that fire pretty quickly, too.
About Megan Armstrong
Since first getting published as a student by the Kansas City Star in 2013, Megan Armstrong has gone wherever curiosity and stories have taken her, specializing in sports, media, music, and culture coverage. She also has an extensive background in interviewing and profiling public figures. Her work has appeared in Billboard, Boardroom, Bleacher Report, Esquire, GQ, GRAMMY.com, NYLON, Newsweek, Teen Vogue, The Hollywood Reporter, UPROXX, and elsewhere.