In due time, future First-Ballot Hall of Famer Aaron Donald should make the Super Bowl favorite Los Angeles Rams even scarier on paper than they already were. Sure, it's been two seasons since the monster interior pass-rusher last collapsed a pocket, but he's no longer the focal point of the Rams' defense. That honor, of course, belongs to Myles Garrett. For all intents and purposes, we should probably expect lots of fireworks from an older version of Donald, who will be double-teamed a lot less in his second stint with the Rams.
Unfortunately for the Rams and any of us who enjoy watching prolific, all-time pass-rushers, we won't see Donald do that when the Rams play the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, on Thursday. Why?
The simple
and straightforward answer is that Donald, after being away from pro football for so long, isn't quite physically ready yet to subject his body to the inherent grit and grind of the game. As such, Donald didn't even travel with the Rams to Australia so he could continue focusing on his training and preparation for his eventual season debut.
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
That's disappointing, but understandable. After all, Donald didn't even join the Rams this year until after they had finished their training camp. For as much as he was undoubtedly doing his own training on the side while sitting in retirement, there's a big difference between that kind of training and getting ready to play physically demanding, high-level football games. The Rams are taking the right approach here because they know what Donald can likely still do at full capacity and understand they can certainly beat the 49ers without him.
It's just a shame that we have to wait a little longer to see one of the greatest football players of all time do his thing again.
When will Aaron Donald play his first game in his Rams return?
Nothing is set in stone, but it seems rather obvious that the Rams are trying to telegraph a home debut for Donald.
With the rest of the Rams playing on September 10th, that gives Donald 11 days to keep preparing for a Monday night matchup with the New York Giants on September 21st. I would bet my bottom dollar that's when the Rams and Donald are planning for him to play in some fashion. He still might not start. He might even be a rotational player. But it would make a lot more sense to give him some snaps and start building him up toward the end of this month.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why isn't Aaron Donald playing against the 49ers in Australia?
