Aaron Donald works out for Rams in latest step on comeback path

Aaron Donald formally worked out for the Los Angeles Rams on Wednesday, presumably taking one of the final steps before the superstar defensive tackle decides whether to end his 2 1/2-year retirement.

BY GREG BEACHAM, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Aug 5, 2026, 4:00 PM

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Aaron Donald formally worked out for the Los Angeles Rams on Wednesday, presumably taking one of the final steps before the superstar defensive tackle decides whether to end his 2 1/2-year retirement.

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The 35-year-old Donald participated in a hosted workout with the Rams, according to the league’s official transaction wire, which records such workouts with free agents before their possible signings to NFL rosters.

Donald has been working out at the Rams’ Woodland Hills training complex and at home for several weeks in his attempt to return to NFL shape. While the Rams have emphasized their willingness to wait indefinitely for Donald to decide, coach Sean McVay has expressed cautious optimism in the past week about the prospect of lining up Donald and Myles Garrett together this season on a remarkable defensive line.

“If there’s an arrow, it’s trending upwards,” McVay said last Friday.

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McVay indicated that the Rams didn’t expect a decision until after they wrap up training camp at Loyola Marymount University this week. The Rams are planning to reconvene in Woodland Hills on Saturday for their first post-camp practice.

Donald retired somewhat abruptly in March 2024 following a decorated 10-year career spent entirely with the Rams. He won the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award three times along with eight All-Pro selections, 10 Pro Bowl selections and a Super Bowl championship ring.

Donald apparently began to entertain the idea of a comeback early last month after the Rams traded for Garrett, one of Donald’s few contemporary peers. The 30-year-old Garrett won two of the last three Defensive Player of the Year awards in Cleveland, where he received five All-Pro nods and seven Pro Bowl selections, along with setting the NFL’s single-season sacks record las t year.

“If he’s here, I’m going to be excited to be his teammate, his partner in crime,” Garrett said last week. “I think we’re going to do great things.”

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