{"id":37844,"date":"2026-08-11T03:49:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T22:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=37844"},"modified":"2026-08-11T03:49:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T22:49:29","slug":"aaron-donald-expectations-with-rams-may-prove-to-be-too-much","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=37844","title":{"rendered":"Aaron Donald expectations with Rams may prove to be too much"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F08%2F136997731.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>With each passing day providing another clue about <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/10\/sports\/rams-aaron-donald-pursues-patrick-mahomes-for-major-nfl-award\/\">Aaron Donald\u2019s intentions<\/a>, it\u2019s becoming more and more apparent that it\u2019s no longer a question of if one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history will come out of retirement to join the Rams\u2019 pursuit of another Super Bowl.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a matter of when.<\/p>\n<p>And there are plenty of reasons to believe this could be the week Donald finally makes it official.<\/p>\n<p>The Rams have returned to their Woodland Hills facility after spending the first two weeks of training camp at Loyola Marymount. They open the preseason Saturday night against the Chiefs in Kansas City. And with just 31 days remaining before they kick off the season against the hated 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, the time has come for <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/07\/sports\/aaron-donald-return-to-rams-jolts-forward-with-latest-3000-mile-twist\/\">Donald and the Rams<\/a> to begin the process of reintroducing themselves to each other.<\/p>\n<p>So, yeah, this feels like the week it all goes down.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s exciting. It\u2019s tantalizing. For Rams fans, it probably feels like Christmas in August.<\/p>\n<p>So why do I have a pit in the bottom of my stomach?<\/p>\n<p>Why can\u2019t I shake the feeling that Donald is about to step onto a high wire, with everything from a triumphant walk to the other side to a painful fall waiting at the end?<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald gestures during the first quarter against the New York Giants on Sunday, December 31, 2023, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (X06796) <span class=\"credit\">USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And why am I worried that if this doesn\u2019t work out the way we hope it will \u2013 maybe even believe it will \u2013 it could leave an unfortunate final image attached to the otherwise pristine legacy Donald built over an illustrious 10-year career?<\/p>\n<p>And maybe, just maybe, that is part of what Donald is wrestling with right now as he closes in on a final decision.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe that helps explain why, for all the signs pointing toward his return, there remains at least some small chance he ultimately passes on the opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>Because Donald has to understand there is risk involved here, too.<\/p>\n<p>Not to what he has accomplished. Nothing can take that away from him.<\/p>\n<p>But to the final image we are left with.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--more inline-module--columnist inline-module--more--thirds\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<h2 class=\"inline-module__heading subsection-heading subsection-heading--single-line \">\n\t\t\tMore From\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"subsection-heading__sub\">Vincent Bonsignore<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>History not on Donald\u2019s side<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Sports history is filled with cautionary tales of legends who stayed too long or came back one time too many.<\/p>\n<p>Willie Mays is arguably the greatest baseball player who ever lived. Yet there are old-timers who still remember the painful sight of him stumbling through the final stages of his career with the Mets, a shell of the breathtaking player they had spent decades worshipping.<\/p>\n<p>Boxing fans remember the great Muhammad Ali, closing in on 40 years old and long past the point when he should have been enjoying retirement, absorbing frightening beatings from Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick.<\/p>\n<p>Old-time Rams fans can still see Joe Namath limping through the final four starts of his career in Los Angeles, looking like a fraction of the Broadway Joe they had grown up admiring.<\/p>\n<p>Johnny Unitas, one of the greatest quarterbacks who ever lived, finished his career with the Chargers, throwing three touchdown passes and seven interceptions in five games before finally walking away.<\/p>\n<p>None of it erased what those men accomplished.<\/p>\n<p>And nothing that happens from here could erase what Donald has already done.<\/p>\n<p>The three Defensive Player of the Year awards. The 10 Pro Bowls. The eight first-team All-Pro selections. The Super Bowl championship. The decade spent terrorizing quarterbacks, overpowering offensive linemen and establishing himself as one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history.<\/p>\n<p>Legacies that enormous don\u2019t disappear because of an ugly final chapter.<\/p>\n<p>But final images have a funny way of sticking with us.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s what makes this so uncomfortable.<\/p>\n<p>Because this isn\u2019t the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/29\/sports\/aaron-donalds-contract-could-be-the-biggest-obstacle-to-a-rams-return-despite-mutual-interest\/\">Aaron Donald who walked away two years ago<\/a>, still capable of wrecking an NFL game almost entirely on his own.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s 35 now. He hasn\u2019t played a meaningful football snap in two years. And while the Rams can carefully manage his workload, limit him to 25 or 30 snaps a game and unleash him in the moments that matter most, there is no way to simulate what happens when a 300-pound offensive lineman gets his hands on you for the first time in two years.<\/p>\n<p>Look, I get it.<\/p>\n<p>Even a 75-percent version of the Aaron Donald we so fondly remember is better than just about everyone else.<\/p>\n<p>And that version of Donald would provide an enormous boost to a Rams defensive line that was already pretty darned good before getting a monumental jolt with the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/29\/sports\/myles-garrett-addresses-rams-media-for-first-time-following-la-trade\/\">arrival of pass-rush demon Myles Garrett<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Having covered Donald for a good portion of his career, and personally watched him wreck entire practices with his relentless dominance, break the will of opposing offenses and literally close out games through sheer will and talent, I am the last person to doubt him or even think about betting against him.<\/p>\n<p>My money is, and probably always will be, on Donald.<\/p>\n<p>Even at this stage. Even after missing two full seasons. And even without any credible evidence or precedent to go on.<\/p>\n<p>Because, quite frankly, there is no applicable comparison.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams looks on from the sideline prior to an NFC Wild Card Playoff football game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, January 14, 2024, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. (Getty Images North America) <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Donald\u2019s return is somewhat unprecedented<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Players of Donald\u2019s stature simply don\u2019t walk away from the NFL for two years in their mid-30s, return and pick up where they left off. We are essentially venturing into uncharted territory here.<\/p>\n<p>But just because no one has done it doesn\u2019t mean Donald can\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, if there is one player capable of pulling it off, it\u2019s him.<\/p>\n<p>Not simply because he is among the most talented players ever to lace up a pair of cleats, but because he has always <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NFL_DovKleiman\/status\/2086219402203091211\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-nyp-affiliate=\"true\">kept himself in extraordinary shape<\/a>. He has been diligent about his health and fitness, even in retirement. And as prideful and self-disciplined as Donald is, he would be the last person to even contemplate a comeback if he didn\u2019t truly believe he could perform at a level acceptable to his impossibly high standards.<\/p>\n<p>That matters.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-wrapper twitter\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Insane: Aaron Donald has gone viral for his incredible strength while training in his pool with water bottles.<\/p>\n<p>Many people don&#8217;t realize how hard this is.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\ude31\ud83d\ude31\ud83d\ude31 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/r2ICsQNWrY\">pic.twitter.com\/r2ICsQNWrY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NFL_DovKleiman\/status\/2086219402203091211?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>But it guarantees absolutely nothing.<\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t guarantee Donald will be as good as he once was. It doesn\u2019t even guarantee he\u2019ll be close.<\/p>\n<p>And it certainly doesn\u2019t guarantee that a 35-year-old body, after two years away from the collisions, torque, leverage and violence of playing defensive tackle in the NFL, will respond the way Donald expects it to.<\/p>\n<p>That is where the uneasiness creeps in.<\/p>\n<p>Because as much as we can envision Donald blowing through an offensive guard, swallowing up a quarterback and bouncing to his feet with that familiar flex, there is another possibility nobody wants to contemplate.<\/p>\n<p>That he comes back as a shell of his former self.<\/p>\n<p>Or, worse, that in trying to summon the player he once was, he puts his body in position to suffer the kind of injury he somehow managed to avoid throughout his remarkable career.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams runs around the edge during an NFC Wild Card Playoff football game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Sunday, January 14, 2024, in Detroit, Michigan. (Getty Images North America) <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We don\u2019t want our last image of Aaron Donald to be one of him struggling to get off a block, arriving a half-step late to a quarterback he once would have swallowed whole or, worse, limping off a field because a 35-year-old body that hadn\u2019t absorbed an NFL collision in two years finally betrayed him.<\/p>\n<p>We want the flex.<\/p>\n<p>We want the quarterback crumpled beneath him.<\/p>\n<p>We want one more championship run with Donald and Garrett terrorizing offensive lines together.<\/p>\n<p>And maybe that\u2019s exactly what we\u2019re going to get.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe Donald will do what he has spent his entire career doing: defy expectations, overwhelm the man across from him and remind everyone why betting against him has always been a fool\u2019s errand.<\/p>\n<p>I wouldn\u2019t bet against Aaron Donald.<\/p>\n<p>Never have. Never will.<\/p>\n<p>But this isn\u2019t really about doubting Donald.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s about respecting Father Time.<\/p>\n<p>And until Donald steps onto that field and proves he can safely make it to the other side of that high wire, I\u2019m not getting rid of that pit in my stomach, either.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With each passing day providing another clue about Aaron Donald\u2019s intentions, it\u2019s becoming more and more apparent that it\u2019s no longer a question of if one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history will come out of retirement to join the Rams\u2019 pursuit of another Super Bowl. It\u2019s a matter of when. And there&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/136997731.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}