Aaron Donald is returning to the NFL. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year ended his two-season retirement on Sunday and will rejoin the Los Angeles Rams, the team with which he built one of the greatest defensive careers in league history.
Donald, 35, agreed to a one-year contract worth $20 million that can rise to $30 million through playoff incentives, according to NFL Network. The Rams confirmed the return shortly after Donald announced it. He last played in the 2023 season and retired in March 2024 after ten Pro Bowls, eight first-team All-Pro selections, 111 sacks and a central role in Los Angeles’ Super Bowl LVI championship.
The return changes the Rams more than the addition of one accomplished veteran. Los Angeles acquired reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in June, creating the possibility of Donald and Garrett lining up on the same front. Donald will still have to prove that two years away have not diminished the burst and leverage that made him uniquely destructive, but the Rams no longer need him to carry their defense alone. A contender that already entered the season with championship expectations has added the defining defender of its modern era.
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