After two seasons away from the NFL, superstar Aaron Donald is officially coming out of retirement to return to the Los Angeles Rams. It's a one-year, $20 million deal with playoff incentives up to $30 million, NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday.
Pairing Donald alongside Myles Garrett on this defensive line is going to create havoc on offenses figuring out how to now relatively contain two of them. If there's one thing you need to know about Aaron Donald, it's that the dude is in great shape even coming out of retirement at 35 years old.
The lucrative nature of the deal suggests that to be the case, as does the fact that he's even returning at all. When Donald was considering the leap back into the NFL, he wanted to make sure that he would still be able to play at a high level.
Rams should be the Super Bowl favorite with Aaron Donald
With this star-studded defensive line to complement an elite offense led by Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay, the Rams should be considered the Super Bowl favorites heading into 2026. It's bad news for the rest of the contenders, particularly those stuck in the same NFC West division like the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.
Seattle may have come away with the Super Bowl after sneaking by LA in the playoffs, but this is a brand new season, and the revamped Rams are the true team to watch heading into September.
From the Arizona Cardinals' standpoint, this is further confirmation that they are on the right rebuilding timeline, continuing to zig while the rest of the stacked division zags.
Rebuilding Cardinals are wise to play the long game
While the Rams, Seahawks, and 49ers battle things out and eat away at each other, the Cardinals continue adding up-and-coming pieces patiently waiting for the right time to strike.
Ideally, that happens after landing a top pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, where they have a great opportunity to land their quarterback of the future.
There's still plenty to sort out on the defensive side of the ball, which was on full display throughout Arizona's 1-3 record in preseason play. But in that high-scoring preseason, we also caught a glimpse of the number of offensive weapons this hypothetical quarterback will immediately have at his disposal.
Donald coming out of retirement is league-altering news as the Rams somehow find more ways to add star power and separate themselves from the pack.
It's also further confirmation that the rebuilding Cardinals are exactly where they are supposed to be, as it's not their time yet.
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