Aaron Donald has not officially announced his return to the Los Angeles Rams, but he is beginning to resemble the world’s least convincing retiree.
The 35-year-old continued fueling comeback speculation Monday by working out at the Rams’ facility alongside defensive linemen Braden Fiske and Desjuan Johnson. Video posted by 2Tenths Speed & Agility showed Donald navigating cones and agility ladders while wearing a Rams helmet and training under longtime speed coach DeWayne Brown.
Johnson, who played beside Donald during his final NFL season in 2023, saw something even more alarming than the three-time Defensive Player of the Year simply looking like himself.
“It didn’t feel like he missed a beat at all,” Johnson told The Athletic. “It feels like he even got a little bit faster, a little bit hungrier in a way.”
Faster?
Donald apparently spent two years away from football aging in reverse, which seems unnecessary for someone who already retired as the most terrifying defensive tackle of his generation.
The assessment also echoes what Donald said before the Rams’ 2021 championship season. He claimed he was becoming quicker, stronger and better conditioned with age.
Five years later, Johnson is essentially offering the sequel: The older Donald gets, the less natural law appears to apply.
The Rams properly listed Donald’s first official workout on the NFL transaction wire because he used team equipment. He has also worked out at UCLA in a Rams helmet and recently brought Brown from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles.
Individually, those details could be dismissed as an accomplished retiree staying in shape. Collectively, they look suspiciously like someone preparing to tackle professional football players again.
Donald began exploring a potential comeback after Los Angeles acquired reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett. Pairing those two would give the Rams six Defensive Player of the Year awards and opposing offensive coordinators six months of insomnia.
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Fiske never had the opportunity to play beside Donald, arriving as a rookie shortly after the legend retired. Johnson did, making his assessment particularly meaningful.
Donald must still decide whether to end his retirement, and the Rams would need to complete the corresponding roster and contract work. His contract demands could present one final obstacle. Until then, every workout will be examined like grainy footage of a rare and extremely muscular animal.
But Donald is wearing Rams equipment, training with Rams defenders and reportedly moving faster than he did before retirement.
If this is merely a casual fitness routine, he has selected a remarkably elaborate way to remain retired.
