Aaron Donald returned from retirement to revigorate the Los Angeles Rams defense on Monday night.
Playing his first NFL game in over two years, Donald helped propel the Rams to a 28-6 victory over the New York Giants. The superstar defensive tackle recorded three tackles, a tackle for a loss, and a pressure in 32 snaps, per NFL Next Gen Stats.
Donald discussed his reassimilation to NFL action after the game. Although the 35-year-old knows he still has progress to make, he didn’t feel hampered by the speed of the game.
“The game really wasn’t as fast as I thought,” Donald said, per Rams.com’s Stu Jackson. “It was more of me calming myself down, overrunning stuff or just my feet not being in the ground how they supposed to be, not trusting my eyes, little stuff like that. But playing the game, when I held out in ’17, ’18, it was the same way when I came back, it took a couple games to get going. It’s a little different. I ain’t played in two years, so I gotta watch the film, see what I did good, see what I did wrong, and just clean it up.”
Donald reacts to return
Robert Gauthier/Getty Images
Donald wasted no time making an impact. ESPN’s Sarah Barshop noted that the Rams had a 66.7% pass rush win rate on Monday night, their highest mark since Donald was still playing in Week 11 of the 2022 season.
With Myles Garrett sidelined, Donald immediately saw some double-teams in his comeback. However, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year felt he could have capitalized on some better matchups throughout the evening.
“I had some one-on-ones, I just got to win them a little faster,” Donald said. “At times, like I said, I popped up, got a little high, got a little too excited. But hopefully we keep getting blocked like that and we get going.”
Rams head coach Sean McVay was pumped to see Donald back on the gridiron.
“If you didn’t get chills when he was introduced, then you’re not freaking alive,” McVay said after the win. “That was awesome. And I just think it’s one of those deals that you get an opportunity to say, ‘Just watch what the hell I do, follow my freaking lead,’ and that’s what this guy does. I love him.”
