Rams' Sean McVay, Desjuan Johnson offer update on potential Aaron Donald comeback

Recent reports indicated that defensive superstar Aaron Donald will confirm that he is ending his retirement and returning to the Los Angeles Rams to play this coming season at some point "later this week." 

If that is the case, Rams head coach Sean McVay did a good job of remaining secretive regarding such a plan while speaking with reporters on Tuesday. 

Sean McVay: Aaron Donald is still "going through his process"

"He’s going through his process," McVay said about Donald, per NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk and NBC Sports. "I’m hopeful. I don’t even want to put a timeline on it because what I don’t want to [do is] rush this. There are conversations we’ve had. Hopefully [something happens] sooner than later, but there’s no new news. He is continuing to go through his process." 

Interestingly, Florio added that the timeline for Donald's decision "could still be bumped deeper into August." Florio also said that the Rams' "goal" continues to be for Donald to play "30 to 40 snaps" in the club's regular-season opener versus the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, on Sept. 10 (U.S. time).

Throughout the summer, reporters and analysts have noted that Donald won't return to the Rams unless he is "convinced he could be himself again" while playing alongside star pass-rusher Myles Garrett. While Donald is a future Hall of Famer who earned NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award honors on three occasions, the 35-year-old hasn't played since he retired in March 2024.

Update on Aaron Donald's ongoing process revealed

Last week, Donald worked out at the Rams' facility and was officially listed on the NFL's "tryout" list. According to Nate Atkins of The Athletic, Donald got "another workout in at the facility on Monday, along with current Rams defensive linemen Braden Fiske and Desjuan Johnson, whom Donald played with in 2023."

Donald also seemed to look ready for action in a recent video shared by 2Tenths Speed & Agility.

"It didn’t feel like he missed a beat at all," Johnson said about Donald. "It feels like he even got a little bit faster, a little bit hungrier in a way."

It remains to be seen if Donald will make any kind of announcement before the Rams' preseason opener at the Kansas City Chiefs this coming Saturday.