Aaron Donald Talks Potential NFL Return Amid Rumors After Rams’ Blockbuster Myles Garrett Trade
A stunning comeback by three-time Defensive Player of the Year can’t be taken off the table after the Los Angeles Rams lined up a trade for Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett.
The Rams confirmed Monday they have a deal in place to acquire Garrett.
Pat McAfee revealed that he reached out to Donald, and the Rams legend said that the deal “for sure got me thinking.”
During Get Up on Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter addressed the idea that Donald could be amenable to teaming up with Garrett. The NFL insider doesn’t believe the odds are likely and pointed out how little room the team has financially.
Still, Schefter isn’t willing to dismiss the notion entirely:
“Again, we could talk about this, and I brought up the idea to the Rams yesterday, and they said right now, they’ve spent all their money. They’ve allocated it to Trent McDuffie, who became the highest paid cornerback in football. Myles Garrett is being paid on a four year, $160 million contract that he’s going to rework to more favorable terms for the Rams, but they’re paying an awful lot of money. Another team called and asked me yesterday, could the Rams sign Aaron Donald? And I said, ‘They’re out of money.’ And he said, ‘In this league, you can always find money.’ And it reminded me of what the teams said when they were calling me in late March, when they said, the Browns are trading Myles Garrett, and the Browns said, we’re not trading Myles Garrett. Teams say the Rams might now make a run at Aaron Donald.”
Colleague Peter Schrager chimed in to posit Donald may warm to the idea of playing in the NFL again after a hiatus:
“The dreams for Aaron Donald was to take a step away from football, and truly, they thought, or he thought, there was gonna be this Hollywood career of where he could be, like, The Rock or something in the superhero spectrum. I don’t know if that’s happened, but he has remained in shape and football shape, and is still very much in contact with that team. The relationship that McVay has with Aaron Donald is really strong and talks often with Aaron Donald and his wife, Erica, and there is a very strong bond there still. I don’t think it’s that crazy of a communication after they bring in Myles Garrett.”
Donald walked away when he was still pretty close to his peak. He finished the 2023 season with eight sacks and 16 tackles for loss en route to being a Pro Bowler for the 10th time and earning an eighth All-Pro nod.
Imagine pairing together two of the best defensive standouts of their generation with he and Garrett.
But Donald turned 35 last month and he has been out of the league for two years. It’s unrealistic to expect he could immediately pick up from where he left off.
Legendary tight end Rob Gronkowski might be a useful example.
Gronk was a solid addition to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense in 2020 and particularly effective inside the red zone. He was a slightly lesser version of his peak self, though.
For the Rams, the opportunity to reunite with Donald would be too good to pass up if he’s willing to seriously consider the idea. He just might not be the game-wrecker fans fondly remember.
