NFL Transfers & Rumours
Rams Refuse to Rule Out Shock Aaron Donald Return in 2026
NFC Wild Card Playoffs - Los Angeles Rams v Detroit Lions by Ryan Kang | Getty Images
The Rams are one of the more progressive and open-minded organizations in the NFL under head coach Sean McVay, and are clearly one of the most driven to try to maximize the odds of winning big every year.
The recent blockbuster acquisition of future Hall of Fame pass rusher Myles Garrett speaks to that, on top of a huge trade for top corner Trent McDuffie early in the offseason.
And, rival general managers believe, the Rams still may not be done.
Defensive tackle Aaron Donald, one of the greatest players at that position in the history of the game, is well into retirement, but there is mounting chatter among players who know Donald as well as in coaching and scouting circles that Donald could be back at some point in 2026.
While some have started the drumbeat now, with training camp a little over a month away, the reality is the Rams would keep the door ajar for Donald to return at any point it made sense, according to league sources, whether that early in season or mid-season or whatever.
Donald walked away from the game after the Rams in 2024, 10 years into his career, still as perhaps the most dominant force on defense in the NFL.
Why now?
The opportunity to pair Donald, even if on a pitch-count of sorts and in a limited role, with Garrett would be one of the unique personnel arrangements in modern NFL history, pairing arguably the best edge defender of the last 15 years with the best interior defender.
The Rams are already the only team to have the reigning MVP (quarterback Matthew Stafford) with the reigning Defensive MVP (Garrett coming off breaking the single-season sack mark), and Donald hasn’t exactly shut down the scenario with his early reactions on social media.
“Dude, you know they’re going to try to run it back with Donald,” said one NFL general manager. “Sean can be pretty convincing. All they really need is for him to be in (game) shape by the playoffs.”
Multiple executives pointed out the Rams would really only need Donald back on their roster by midseason to get him prepared to play in a handful of games in the regular season and be in form for the playoffs.
With this team more in Super Bowl or bust mode than any in the NFL, and maybe any in NFL history, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all at this point.
Editor's Insight
The mere possibility of an Aaron Donald return only reinforces how aggressively the Rams are operating in “all-in” mode, which would likely see their outright Super Bowl price shorten further, given the upside of pairing him with Myles Garrett. Even if it’s speculative, the market would have to account for a potentially historic defensive ceiling in Los Angeles.
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La Canfora has covered over 20 Super Bowls and League Meetings and NFL drafts, building a wide network of sources throughout all aspects of the game. He was an award winning print journalist as well, working at The Detroit Free Press and The Baltimore Sun prior to his first stint at The Washington Post. He has covered sporting events around the world, including two Winter Olympics and all of the 2006 World Cup. He attended his first NFL game in 1978, and would soon kindle what has become a lifelong love and appreciation of the sport. La Canfora is also a professional handicapper, specializing in the NFL, creating a daily sports wagering game show - "Wanna Bet?" He also hosts nationally broadcast NFL radio shows in the US, as well as a daily sports radio show in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.