The Los Angeles Rams didn’t have to take Aaron Donald at his word when he said he could still play.
Donald gave himself the same treatment he once reserved for opposing guards and quarterbacks by checking out the tape.
The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year revealed Sunday that he recorded his workouts while considering a return from retirement, then studied the footage to determine whether more than two years away had taken anything from his game.
“I studied myself to a T. Watched every movement, every cut, every hip flip,” Donald said, as Greg Beacham reported on X.
His conclusion was promising, as Donald said he saw no meaningful drop-off and believed his movement looked “a little cleaner” than before.
The Rams confirmed that Donald filmed everything from his conditioning work through his transition into football drills.
The 35-year-old officially rejoined the Rams on Aug. 30, giving a contender a historically decorated defensive player just days before the regular season.
Donald Put His Comeback Through a Film Test
Donald did more than stay in the weight room during his time away.
Rams.com reported that he had been in a “football mindset” for 14 weeks and built his training from conditioning work into speed drills and football movements. He filmed the process, allowing him to evaluate his cuts, change of direction and hip movement frame by frame.
“Do I feel like I can play at a high level? Yes,” Donald said.
Donald had known for about two weeks that he wanted to return, according to the team website. The process stretched through the summer as head coach Sean McVay kept in contact with him and repeatedly left the timeline in Donald’s hands.
The Rams also logged official workouts for Donald on the NFL transaction wire in August. Those sessions became most obvious public signs that the comeback had moved past casual training.
Donald returns on a one-year, $20 million deal that can climb to $30 million through incentives, via NFL.com. He’s still being ramped up, and McVay hasn’t committed to playing him in the Sept. 10 opener against the 49ers in Australia.
Garrett Trade Gave Donald Another Motivation
The film convinced Donald his body could handle a return, and the roster gave him grounds to make one.
Donald acknowledged that the Rams’ offseason trade for Myles Garrett helped move the idea forward. Los Angeles sent Jared Verse to Cleveland as part of the deal for Garrett, who is coming off a 23-sack season and his second Defensive Player of the Year award.
“I already thought it was a stacked D-line with Verse,” Donald told the Associated Press.
Adding Garrett, whom Donald called a generational talent, made the prospect even more appealing. The pairing swiftly changes the potential of a defense fashioned to complement reigning MVP Matthew Stafford and an offense that led the NFL last season.
Donald and Garrett have combined for five Defensive Player of the Year awards and 236.5 career sacks. Donald alone has 111 sacks, 10 Pro Bowl selections and eight first-team All-Pro honors across 10 seasons.
He retired after the 2023 season believing his career was complete, but more than two years later, his own film review helped tell him something different.
For a player whose game was modeled on advantages in leverage, footwork and hand placement, Donald didn’t need an outside evaluator to make the final call. He could do it himself to find out how much damage he can do on Sundays.
LA Rams’ Aaron Donald Unveils What Convinced Him to Make NFL Comeback