Aaron Donald pleased with progress as Rams' opener nears
More than a week after coming out of retirement for the Los Angeles Rams, defensive tackle Aaron Donald said he feels like he "never left."
Donald, who initially retired in March 2024, came out of retirement on August 30. He took part in individual drills that day but did not do 11-on-11 until September 6.
"It's been good," Donald said. "It's better than what I thought it would be, honestly. Things are clicking a little faster. I'm feeling good, knocking the rust off. I thought I'd be a lot more rusty then I was, but taking it day by day."
Donald declined to say whether he will play in the Week 1 opener against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia. Rams head coach Sean McVay has said the Rams will take it a day at a time with Donald.
"I'm feeling really good," Donald said when asked whether he'd play in Melbourne. "I'm feeling great. Coming up with a game plan and will see what's going on, but I'm telling you, I feel great."
Donald said he thought he would be "a little all over the place" when returning to team drills for the first time since he retired, but he "settled in."
"A couple plays I was a little rusty," Donald said. "It isn't where I want to be, but it's pretty damn good, if you ask me. To not play football in two years, to be moving how I'm moving, like I said, it's really no drop off. It's not where I want to be because I can see it and I know there are things that I want to clean up and I'm going to clean up. The more reps I do, the more I play, it'll get there. But he's still there."
Donald said his goal is to get himself to "that top tier" that he wants to be at.
"I never do anything to be average," Donald said. "I want to be good. Everything I do I try to be great. That's my mindset. That's the way I go about my work. That's the way I'm built. I can't help that."
On Monday, Donald did not practice, instead doing a cardio workout. Donald told reporters, "I'm 35, I didn't play football in two years so you have to be smart. Even if I feel good, you still have to be smart." Donald said he would be back at practice on Tuesday.
Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula was asked Monday whether it's been a challenge to figure out how to fit Donald into his defensive scheme.
"It's a challenge I'll take anytime," Shula said. "No, we're taking it day-by-day and we're just trying to get him acclimated to the defense. At the end of the day, football is football. I know it's been about two years, but we expect him to hit the ground running and we'll see what happens."
Regardless of whether Donald plays in Australia, it's clear that he won't be taking on the same workload that he did in his final season. In 2023, Donald played 81% of the Rams' defensive snaps.
"Whatever my role is, I'm going to go out there and play at a high level, do my part," Donald said. "It's a team sport. That's the best thing about it. I don't have to worry about playing 70, 60 snaps when you have a group like this. There's no pressure on me. I can just go out there, play free, play ball. Let the game come to me, play with the guys around me. Help them, they help me. Hopefully we have a lot of success this season."
