McVay implies Aaron Donald leaning towards return

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Inglewood, CA - February 08: Los Angeles Rams defensive end Aaron Donald (99) hugs head coach Sean McVay after defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium on Monday, Feb. 8, 2016 in Inglewood, CA. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The possibility of Aaron Donald returning to the Los Angeles Rams has never gone backwards, but only inched closer to the three-time Defensive Player of the Year coming out of retirement since the rumors first started. The likelihood that the Rams will add another future Hall of Famer after trading for Myles Garrett took another step forward on Friday, as Sean McVay told the media that “If there’s an arrow, it’s trending upward.”

McVay is finding it harder and harder to keep the worst-kept secret in the NFL. That ever since L.A. traded for Garrett, Donald has wanted to return to the Rams.

HC McVay on a potential Aaron Donald return, via @michaeljduarte:

"Things are going in the right direction. If there’s an arrow, it’s trending upward."

— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) August 1, 2026

“Things are going in the right direction,” said McVay on Friday. But he’s continuing to preach patience as it pertains to when Donald will return, not necessarily “if” anymore.

McVay doesn’t expect until a final decision for at least another week, as the head coach said he doesn’t expect an update until the Rams return to Woodland Hills, which will happen after their final Loyola Marymount practice on August 7.

“There’s some conversations that we’ve had,” McVay said after Friday’s practice at Rams Training Camp presented by CommunityAmerica Credit Union at LMU. “We’ve loosely had some different timelines that are kind of temporary. I want to keep those between us, just if something unforeseen happens, out of respect for him and the situation. But I know this, things are going in the right direction, and if there’s an arrow, it’s trending upwards.”

The Rams still have to settle the $30 million question: How much of Donald’s original salary want to be paid in order to come back?

Sean McVay said he doesn’t expect there to be an update on Aaron Donald’s return until the Rams get to Woodland Hills. McVay did say that if there’s an arrow, “it’s trending upward.”

— Sarah Barshop (@sarahbarshop) August 1, 2026

It’s not a question of whether the Rams want to pay Donald $30 million, it’s what his contract stipulates he’s owed if he returns to the team. Donald can work out a different contract to the return to the team, but he can always demand $30 million if the team wants him that bad.

However, given that it would be Donald coming out of retirement for this opportunity to play on L.A.’s defense this year, we can assume money is not his motivation. If it was, why did he retire in the first place?

By most accounts, Aaron Donald is trending towards a Rams return.

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