Rams DT Aaron Donald Traveling To Australia With Team

To be clear, Los Angeles remains hesitant to affirm when Donald will play his first game since retiring in 2024. The team has kept to a strict schedule for Donald with plenty of planned rest days, but as McVay spoke with the media today, he relayed that he didn’t quite have a sense yet about Donald’s readiness to return by Thursday. He explained that the progressive ramp up to get Donald back into game-shape has been going “really good” as Donald is “so intentional about his rhythm and routine,” but this week will go a long way in determining if he can play.

“Obviously, one of the best things you can do is get out there and play football in 11-on-11 settings with pads, your eye progression, taking on some of the double-teams, different things like that,” McVay told reporters today. “So this week will be a big week for him in terms of how he feels, and then we’ll just kind of take it a day at a time and see where he’s at. If he feels good enough to go, great. If not, I’ve got a lot of confidence in the other guys that’ll be ready to step up if that’s the case, (guys) that have really gotten all the reps anyway.”

McVay also provided an update on wide receiver Puka Nacua as he works his way back from a psoas injury. The All-Pro has been dealing with the core/lower back issue since a mid-August joint practice with the Cowboys, but he returned to practice this past weekend. McVay disclosed that Nacua “is making good progress (and)…hitting some high-speed yards at a really good clip” as he works his way back.

McVay also addressed the team’s decision to travel so close to game day, as opposed to the 49ers, who departed for Australia on Wednesday to allow plenty of time to adjust to the drastic time difference. Essentially, San Francisco will be well-rested and prepared for their Week 1 game and will have to readjust to their home time zone in the week and a half before their Week 2 contest. The Rams, on the other hand, will try to remain within their operations as if still on Pacific Standard Time in the hopes that they will encounter an easier transition once they return home. To the Rams, it should feel like a 7:30PM game, while the Niners will be on Melbourne time at 10:30AM.

“We felt like staying in our rhythm and routine,” McVay explained (via Mark Maske of Front Office Sports). “There’s different approaches and theories, but I do have a lot of trust in our group. And we’ll see. Hopefully, it works out.”