While Brock Purdy and the 49ers will still have to worry about Myles Garrett in Australia, they can take relief in the fact that Aaron Donald won't be on the field.
He won't even be in the stadium.
From the moment Donald announced his much-anticipated return to the NFL, it seemed unlikely that the 10-time Pro Bowler would be involved in the Rams' season opener in Melbourne, Australia. Even with the star pass rusher staying in shape during retirement, the prospect of traveling that kind of distance and rushing him into full action didn't make sense.
On Tuesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter confirmed as much. Donald will not be making the trip at all.
Sources: Rams standout DT Aaron Donald will not travel to Australia for Thursday night’s opener against the
49ers and will be inactive, per me and @rapsheet. The Rams want to give Donald more time to ramp up before making his much-anticipated return after two seasons of… pic.twitter.com/avAbPTtPUA
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 8, 2026
The plan remains to give Donald more time to get fully acclimated into the Rams' defense. And with him listed inactive for the game and staying in Los Angeles, Donald to avoid acclimating to multiple time zones.
We'll have to see what the Rams do for the second game against the Giants on Sept. 21. But for now, Donald is staying home.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why Aaron Donald won't be in Australia with the Rams
