McVay rejects 'invisible deadline' for Donald’s potential return

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay has ruled out the imposition of an artificial timeline for Aaron Donald’s decision regarding a return from retirement. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times following a preseason match against the Kansas City Chiefs, McVay emphasised that the organisation will not apply what he termed an “invisible deadline” to the former defensive tackle.

Donald, who retired in March 2024 after a decade with the club, has been working out with the team and evaluating his physical readiness. McVay noted that Donald, now 35, joined the Rams for a workout on 5 August that the coach described as “outstanding.” The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year began entertaining the possibility of a comeback in early June, reportedly following the team’s trade for Myles Garrett.

Despite the NFL’s league-wide requirement for teams to trim rosters from 90 to 53 players by 30 August, McVay stated he would not enforce a hard deadline on Donald. He acknowledged that the Rams have identified “loose” dates they would prefer to meet, but insisted that avoiding unnecessary pressure on the player remains the priority.

“We have some loose things where we’ve identified you know dates that we’d like to be able to hit,” McVay said. “But what I don’t want to have is any sort of unnecessary pressure on him if there’s some unforeseen circumstances.” He added that while he hopes Donald makes a decision “sooner than later,” the player has earned the right to have “clarity” on his future.

McVay confirmed that the Rams have held “tentative discussions behind the scenes” regarding Donald’s potential return. He noted that Donald is assessing whether he can meet specific physical benchmarks, such as the ability to “stack back-to-back days.” The coach expressed satisfaction with the current state of the roster, stating he feels “great” about the team regardless of whether Donald ultimately decides to return.