Los Angeles Rams fans finally heard the good news on Sunday about Aaron Donald’s return. The franchise legend had apparently been sitting on it for weeks.
Donald sent shockwaves across the NFL landscape when he finally announced that he planned to come out of retirement to rejoin the Rams next season. It was a move Rams fans had been praying for ever since the team traded for Myles Garret at the beginning of June, but only came nearly three full months later.
With the season right around the corner and still no decision from Donald, the Rams were reportedly wavering in their belief that he would return. Donald revealed Sunday in a press conference that his mind and heart were already with the team as early as two weeks ago.
“I know the world was saying all types of different things and nobody knew what was going on. But I kind of knew for two weeks,” Donald told reporters, via Pro Football Talk’s Myles Simmons. “And then I talked to Sean [McVay] every single week. Damn near every day. So, we stayed in contact, I’d give him all my updates, how I was feeling, how things was going.
“I know he got annoyed with asking all the questions in camp every damn day, so I felt bad for him at that point. But I was doing everything I needed to do to give myself the peace of mind to see if I could do it. So there wasn’t no rushing.”
McVay was probably feeling more anxious than annoyed about Donald’s daily text messages. But whatever McVay was feeling turned into a mix of relief and elation once the All-Pro pass rusher announced his decision.
Donald credited his wife, Erica, for playing a “huge part” in determining that a comeback was the right call. He noted that his years away from football have been “amazing,” which made it doubly important that he was ready to be “all the way in” on at least one more NFL season.
