It turns out Aaron Donald isn’t done just yet.<\/p>\n
The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year is coming out of retirement and returning to the Los Angeles Rams<\/a>, he announced on Instagram on Sunday.<\/p>\n Donald is signing a one-year deal worth $20 million that could be worth up to $30 million in incentives, ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Donald, one of the most dominant defensive players in NFL history, retired in March 2024<\/a> after just 10 NFL seasons. He made the Pro Bowl in each of those 10 seasons, adding in three Defensive Player of the Year awards, eight first-team All-Pro selections, a Defensive Rookie of the Year award and a Super Bowl title in 2022, which the Rams won in their home stadium of SoFi Stadium against the Cincinnati Bengals. He has 111.0 career sacks and 176 tackles for loss, numbers made all the more impressive coming from a defensive tackle.<\/p>\n The 35-year-old returns to a Rams team that boasts another multi-time Defensive Player of the Year. Los Angeles pulled off the biggest blockbuster of the NFL offseason by reeling in defensive end Myles Garrett<\/a> from the Cleveland Browns. Garrett comes to L.A. after earning the league’s top defensive honor in 2023 and 2025, along with a new NFL single-season sack record<\/a>.<\/p>\n The team’s surplus of talent isn’t limited to defense, where it also traded for former first-team All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie<\/a>. The Rams are the first team in NFL history to have the reigning MVP at quarterback (Matthew Stafford<\/a>) and reigning Defensive Player of the Year on the same roster. The team also has the 2025 NFL leader in receiving touchdowns in Davante Adams and the No. 2 leader in receiving yards in Puka Nacua.<\/p>\n The Rams went to the playoffs in both seasons without Donald, but they are still chasing a division rival. They fell to the Seattle Seahawks in last season’s NFC Championship Game<\/a>, and Seattle went on to dismantle the New England Patriots<\/a> in Super Bowl LX<\/a>.<\/p>\n