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Three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald is officially returning to play for the Los Angeles Rams, the team announced Sunday. He also announced it himself via Instagram.
It will be a one-year, $20 million deal worth up to $30 million with incentives, a league source who spoke on the condition of anonymity so they could discuss the deal told The Athletic.
Donald, 35, returns more than two years after his retirement. He is attempting something rarely done for a player in his mid-30s after multiple seasons away from the game, but this situation has been building steam for months now.
Aaron Donald comes out of retirement to rejoin an ‘all-in’ Rams
Nate Atkins
It started when the Rams made the blockbuster trade to acquire reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns.
Rams coach Sean McVay had a call with Donald about bringing in Garrett, and Donald has long been fascinated by the idea of sharing a defensive line with another superstar, given the steady rate of double-teams he faced in his 10-year career.
Donald said when he visited the facility last fall that he did not have interest in playing again, but this spring’s moves changed the circumstances. He has been working out regularly at the Rams’ facility, and he has completed two workouts that the team has reported to the league as official tryouts since training camp began.
“It didn’t feel like he missed a beat at all,” said Rams defensive lineman Desjuan Johnson, who joined Donald for a speed workout in August. “It feels like he even got a little bit faster, a little bit hungrier in a way.”
Now, the Rams will have two multi-time Defensive Players of the Year on the same defensive line. Donald has 111 career sacks in 10 seasons. Garrett has 125.5 in nine.
Donald’s return completes the Rams’ defensive makeover this offseason. In addition to trading Jared Verse to land Garrett from the Browns, the Rams also pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for two-time All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie and signed Jaylen Watson to start at the other outside cornerback spot. Those moves came after Matthew Stafford returned for an 18th NFL season, fresh off his first MVP award.
Now, the Rams will have a defensive line featuring Garrett, Donald, Byron Young off a 12-sack Pro Bowl season and Kobie Turner off a seven-sack campaign. Those four will get to mix and match alignments and stunts in defensive coordinator Chris Shula’s creative scheme.
“Are there so many things we could do in terms of pressures and blitzes and all of that stuff? Of course,” safety and captain Quentin Lake said this spring. “That’s unheard of, to have two guys who won Defensive Player of the Year on the same team. It would be one fun year, I’ll say that.”
The push for a Super Bowl after a narrow loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game spoke to Donald. And now, the Rams hope to do what they did with Donald in 2021: hoist the Lombardi Trophy after winning the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium.
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