After an offseason of will-he, won’t-he speculation about his potential return to football, Aaron Donald declined to say Monday whether he will play in the Los Angeles Rams’ season opener in Australia.
The star defensive tackle who retired after the 2023 season danced around questions Monday about his availability for Week 1.
“Feeling good, feeling really good,” Donald said Monday. “Come up with a game plan and see.”
Donald was then asked point-blank whether he’d make the trip with the Rams to Melbourne. The team departs Tuesday for the Thursday night game against the San Francisco 49ers.
“I’m feeling really good. Feeling great,” he replied. “Come up with a game plan and see what’s going on, but I’m telling you, I feel great.”
Donald ended his two-year retirement to join a Rams team that also acquired reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, making them a preseason Super Bowl favorite.
He worked out with the Rams on a few occasions in August, then officially signed a one-year, $20 million contract with his old team on Aug. 30. Donald has had only one 11-on-11 practice since returning, on Sunday, and he had a scheduled day off on Monday.
“I’m 35,” he told reporters, though he acknowledged he was not as rusty as he’d expected. “You don’t play football in two years, you got to be smart. Even if I feel good, you still gotta be smart.”
Head coach Sean McVay and defensive coordinator Chris Shula have offered little additional insight, other than to say that his situation was being evaluated day by day.
“We’re ready for him if he does, ready for him if he doesn’t,” Shula told reporters. “And we’ll have a plan for however many plays he feels like he can go and we’ll go from there.”
Donald was named a Pro Bowler in all 10 of his seasons and a first-team All-Pro in eight. In 154 career games for the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams (2014-23), he racked up 111 sacks, 543 tackles, 176 tackles for loss, 24 forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries.