Look who’s back.
If they weren’t already, the Los Angeles Rams are Super Bowl favourites after announcing three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald is rejoining the team.
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With it, Donald is ending his two-season retirement with US media reports saying Donald has signed a one-year contract worth $US20 million.
The call comes in a massive boost for Australian fans, just days before the Rams’ blockbuster clash with the San Francisco 49ers at the MCG on Friday, September 11.
The 35-year-old defensive tackle – an eight-time All Pro selection who played a crucial role in the Rams’ 2022 Super Bowl victory – retired from the sport in 2024 after 10 seasons.
However, Donald has now been tempted out of retirement to join a Rams defense which has already been bolstered by the arrival of defensive superstar and former No. 1 pick Myles Garrett earlier in the off-season.
The duo’s looming partnership, having won a combined five NFL DPOY awards, has instantly boosted the Rams’ Super Bowl hopes, with Garrett set to challenge his own record for most sacks in a season.
It comes after vision emerged of the 30-year old’s extraordinary seated box jump – a nearly unbelievable show of power from a man weighing over 120 kilograms.
The Rams took to social media to announce Donald’s return, cheekily posting an email to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell from 35-year old simply saying “I’m back”.
The two words are a callback to NBA legend Michael Jordan’s un-retirement in 1995, when he confirmed his return via a press release from agent David Falk featuring the exact same phrase.
“I’ve been working the last 12-13 weeks to train my body and get it to a point where I felt like I could play the game at a high level and be durable,” US media quoted Donald as saying.
“I am now ready to come back to try and do something special with this group of guys.”
Donald hung up the boots in January 2024, after a ten-year career with the Rams netted eight first team All-Pro selections, 111 sacks and being named to the Pro Bowl in every season.
According to reports, head coach Sean McVay first contacted Donald to ask his opinion on the Rams recruiting star pass rusher Garrett, who arrived from Cleveland in June.
Donald then proved receptive when McVay quizzed him on a potential return.
The decision comes after weeks of speculation that the 2022 Super Bowl winner was considering a retirement about-face, with prominent US broadcaster Stephen A. Smith saying the Rams all but had another title sewn up with Donald back on the books.
“Lord have mercy,” Smith said on ESPN in August.
“I’m looking to my left and it’s Myles Garrett, and I’m looking to my right and it’s Aaron Donald. And I’m like “they don’t even have to sack me. They’re just going to have an opportunity to hit me”.”
“That is a very, very depressing situation to be in for an opposing quarterback.”
What it means for Australian fans to see two modern defensive greats on the MCG has also been laid bare, with Herald Sun and Fox Footy reporter Jon Ralph claiming Donald’s return takes the match to “God tier” level.
“A game of intense divisional rivals just reached overdrive with confirmation of Aaron Donald’s return to the Los Angeles Rams defence,” Ralph wrote.
“Now a Rams team already stacked with reigning MVP (Matt Stafford) and the current defensive player of the year (Garrett) just added the 127kg ball of muscle to truly terrorise NFL quarterbacks.
“Donald plays on the interior and Garrett is an edge-rusher – so in theory they should perfectly complement each other’s styles.”
However, McVay is remaining tight-lipped as to whether Donald will feature at the MCG.
“I am not going to talk about any plans. It’s going to be a day at a time,” he said.
“The first steps when you are coming back is ‘let’s get onto the practice field and let’s see what the ramp-up period looks like’.
“Whether or not he’s available or whether we think it’s best to play him in Australia, the best way to do it is one day at a time.
“But we are obviously excited to have him back.”
Donald’s return comes with the Rams targeting a repeat of their 2022 Super Bowl win which came at their home SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
The 2026-2027 Super Bowl will also take place at SoFi Stadium. Donald is one of only three players to win the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award on three occasions, along with Lawrence Taylor and J.J. Watt.
He was selected to the Pro Bowl in all ten years he played in the league, a record matched only by former Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders.