Aaron Donald doesn’t do anything halfway. He never did during his NFL career, and he certainly isn’t lollygagging his way through this potential comeback attempt.
Donald is going all out to determine whether he wants to play again, pulling out all the stops – from ramping up his training regimen to working out at the Los Angeles Rams’ facility. Sean McVay revealed an interesting tidbit during Thursday’s press conference, telling reporters that Donald flew his usual speed trainer out to Los Angeles from Pittsburgh, which shows how serious he is about this possible return.
“He’s got such an intentional routine and rhythm,” McVay said. “He's had his same speed trainer that he's worked out with throughout his whole career that he has back at home
or back in Pittsburgh that he's brought out here. He's taking great care of himself, as we all know. Getting ready to play football and just working out the way that he has, there's a little bit of a different rhythm and routine. Anything that he does, like I've shared with you guys, he's going to do it with everything that he's got.”
Donald trained often with DeWayne Brown of 2Tenths Speed and Agility, so that’s likely who McVay is referring to. The video below is from 2023, but it’s an example of the types of drills Donald has probably been going through in preparation for a possible comeback.
It's much different than just hitting the weights in the gym or running on the treadmill for cardio, as these are much more football-focused drills.
The best part of the offseason?
— NFL (@NFL) April 3, 2023
The @aarondonald97 footwork drill videos. 🔥 (via @210ths) pic.twitter.com/BLOAdvjPVF
Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk reported Thursday night that Donald could make a decision in the coming days, and it's possible he'll be ready to play 30-40 snaps in Week 1 against the 49ers. Signs have pointed toward Donald returning, something McVay has acknowledged himself, but we're still waiting for him to make the final call.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Aaron Donald flew his speed trainer out to LA from Pittsburgh
