When Michael Jordan announced his return to the NBA in 1995, all he said was “I’m back” in a statement. Well we’ve come a long way since then because Aaron Donald on Sunday announced his return to the NFL.
And he did it with a full-on video on Instagram.
(There’s something to be said for 1995).
Donald must agree with that to some degree because in his official letter to Commissioner Roger Goodell, he quoted Jordan.
“I’m back,” Donald wrote. “Sincerely, Aaron Donald.”
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One thing 1995 couldn’t offer: Instant reaction from the wife.
“I let him out the house y’all,” Erica Donald, the defensive lineman’s wife, posted on X.
Donald, 35, is indeed returning to the Los Angeles Rams, after being retired in 2024 and 2025, to resume his career which previously spanned 10 years.
“We back,” Donald wrote on the announcement page, sort of taking a page out of Jordan’s playbook.
Donald has agreed to a one-year deal worth $20 million that can escalate up to $30 million for 2026, per a source.
Donald has been working out in the same intense and urgent fashion that he gained a reputation for utilizing during his previous time in the NFL. Those workouts previously helped Donald become one of the best defensive players of his generation and one of the great defensive linemen of all time.
He’s had two official “tryouts” with the Rams as part of that comeback. He’s been working out twice daily with his personal trainers for nearly six weeks on top of that. And he’s been eating differently, too.
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And all of this came with two goals:
Goal 1: Regain the ability and prowess Donald had before he retired, which is to say, he wants to play at the level that made him a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and a nine-time All Pro.
Goal 2: Win the Super Bowl.
Donald’s fire was obviously rekindled by the fact the Rams are going for it this coming season.
They added two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in June.
The combination of Garrett and Donald – and their five Defensive Player of the Year awards – offers the Rams the possibility of having the most epic defensive line in NFL history if both play to expectation and past performance.
The Rams also happened to add corner backs Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson this offseason.
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Think of this: The Rams added the two starting corner backs from the Kansas City Chiefs, with McDuffie being a Pro Bowl-caliber player, to be their starting corner backs in 2026.
And that was, like, the third most significant addition to the team’s defense this offseason.
All of this on top of the fact quarterback Matthew Stafford is the defending NFL MVP.
So, yes, the goal in Los Angeles with Donald, Garrett, McDuffie, Stafford and others is to win it all after the team fell short against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game last season.
And maybe that works out.
But regardless of that, what an amazing offseason the Rams have put together.
