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Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles Rams have been teasing a return for weeks, most recently with the future Hall of Famer working out for the team. With the 2026 NFL season approaching, it appears a decision could be on the horizon. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that a decision from Donald could arrive “in the coming days” following his workout with the team on Wednesday. - Aaron Donald career stats: 260 QB hits, 176 tackles for loss, 111 sacks What’s critical for Donald, per Florio’s reporting, is determining whether he can rejoin the Rams and be the player he used to be. The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and 10-time Pro Bowl selection made a strong impression on the Rams coaching staff during his workout this week, but he’s also two years removed from playing. In his final season, at 32 years old, Donald played 867 snaps (81 percent) across 16 regular-season games for Los Angeles. He finished the season with 31 pressures, 23 quarterback hits, 16 tackles for loss and 8 sacks while earning first-team All-Pro honors for the eighth and final time in his career. It does seem increasingly likely that Donald will come out of retirement and rejoin a Rams defensive line that now boasts Myles Garrett. That pairing would arguably give Los Angeles the two best defensive linemen in the NFL over the last 20 years. However, he would still need to be eased into things. Details on Los Angeles Rams’ Plan for Aaron Donald Florio also reported that the Rams are developing a plan in the event Donald unretires. It would start with taking the same blueprint they used with him when he missed training camp in 2017 and 2018 due to a contract holdout. He would be eased in on the practice field, slowly built up through individual and team activities before being cleared several weeks later to play in a game. In this case, the Rams schedule would have Donald make the trip with them to Australia for the team regular-season opener against the San Francisco 49ers. Donald would be eased into action, playing roughly 30 to 40 defensive snaps. Back in 2023, Donald’s last NFL season, he played 42 snaps in Week 1 before making the jump to 54 snaps the following week and then 63 snaps in Week 3. The last time he missed all of Rams training camp, back in 2018, he played 62 snaps in the regular-season opener. As of now, there seems to be a strong likelihood of Donald coming out of retirement and being part of the Rams defense in Week 1. While that 49ers vs Rams game on Netflix was already going to be a must-watch, the likely return of an all-time great NFL player makes Los Angeles an even more stacked team for the upcoming season. Tap Here To Add Sportsnaut As A Trusted Source on Google