08/30/26 03:23:00
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08/30 15:21 CDT Aaron Donald ends his 2 1/2-year retirement and returns to the
Los Angeles Rams
Aaron Donald ends his 2 1/2-year retirement and returns to the Los Angeles Rams
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- Aaron Donald has returned to the Los Angeles Rams, ending
his retirement after 2 1/2 years to join Myles Garrett on their defensive line.
The Rams announced the 35-year-old Donald's decision Sunday following several
weeks of discussion, preparation and intensive workouts for the star defensive
lineman.
Donald became one of the greatest defensive players of his era during his first
10 seasons spent entirely with the Rams in St. Louis and Los Angeles. He won
three AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards while earning 10 Pro Bowl
selections, eight All-Pro selections and a Super Bowl ring before he retired
somewhat abruptly in March 2024.
After two years in retirement with his family, Donald began to entertain the
notion of a comeback after the Rams traded for Garrett, one of Donald's few
peers in contemporary defensive line play. Donald and Garrett have combined to
win five of the AP's past nine Defensive Player of the Year awards, including
two of the past three for Garrett with the Cleveland Browns.
Donald's return adds another force to the Rams' stacked roster as they attempt
to win their second NFL title during coach Sean McVay's successful decade in
charge. Los Angeles also added cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson
from Kansas City to a defense that now looks more equipped to keep pace with
the Rams' offense, which was the NFL's best last season and returns every major
contributor around league MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford.
The decision resets Donald's eligibility clock for his all-but-automatic
induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he's much more interested in
seizing the strong opportunity to play for a second ring while lining up
alongside Garrett and talented young contributors Byron Young, Kobie Turner and
Braden Fiske on what should be an opponents' nightmare of a defensive front.
Donald would have been eligible for the 2029 class in Canton, Ohio.
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