Now that Aaron Donald is officially back with the Rams, when will he play?
Could it be as soon as Week 1?
Head coach Sean McVay didn’t rule out Donald potentially playing in Australia when the Rams open the season against the 49ers. But he also didn’t want to put a timetable on anything for the three-time AP defensive player of the year.
“I’m not going to talk about any sort of plans, it’s going to be a day at a time for us,” McVay said in his Sunday press conference. “What does that mean for Australia? The first step was, alright, if you’re coming back, let’s do that, let’s get you back on the practice field, let’s get you acclimated to your teammates, to your coaches. And then we’ll see what that ramp-up period looks like, whether or not he’s available or whether or not we think it’s best to play him in Australia. I think the best way to do it is take it one day at a time.
“But, we’re obviously excited to be able to have him back.”
As he has throughout the summer, McVay noted how much Donald means to him personally when discussing his enthusiasm for the defensive tackle’s return.
“It’s way bigger than football,” McVay said. “There’s a lot of history. There’s a lot of experiences that we’ve shared. A lot of love for each other’s families. So, I know for him to want to be able to explore this and come back into the mix is a real credit to the special people that he’s got a chance to be around, and that’s his teammates, and that’s obviously his coaches. And excited to start this journey.
“He’s one of one.”
So how did it get to this point?
“I think he wanted to get to a point where he knows just from his previous experiences, alright, I want to be able to be there, be a part of the football team, and I think there were some things that he wanted to be able to work through — just in terms of his workouts and where he felt his body was before he could comfortably get to this spot,” McVay said. “And so, that was really what went into it.
“He and I both kind of had an unspoken understanding like, once we get the roster down, where are you at with it? You don’t owe us anything. And no matter what, there’s a lot of love. We wanted to make sure that he felt good about doing that. He obviously is incredibly — his priority is with his family. And so when he does something, he does it all in. That’s what led to being able to get it done today.”
