Rams coach Sean McVay says Aaron Donald ‘looked great’ in Tuesday workout

LOS ANGELES — Sean McVay and Aaron Donald talk nearly every day, the Rams’ head coach said Thursday evening.

McVay has been up front about his connection with the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, built from their seven seasons together after he was hired in 2017. And his enthusiasm has hardly dimmed about the possibility of Donald coming out of retirement to rejoin the Rams, who will begin the 2026 season as one of the betting favorites to win the Super Bowl.

But a day after the Rams reported Donald’s Tuesday workout – which took place at Loyola Marymount with running game coordinator and defensive line coach Giff Smith during the players’ day off – in his potential quest to return after two seasons on the sideline, McVay said that there’s still “no news” on Donald’s decision. He shared, however, that Donald, by all accounts, “looked great.”

“I think the right thing is just (to) hold off until there’s any information whether he is or isn’t going to do this,” McVay said Thursday.

Donald’s visit to LMU, where the Rams wrapped up their away-from-home training camp on Thursday before restarting practices at their Woodland Hills facility on Saturday, showed up on the NFL transactions wire in the way tryouts for players vying for the last spots on preseason rosters would.

The impact between a potential roster filler, and Donald, can’t be understated. For McVay, who said Donald mostly did “standard individual drills” and “hit some sleds,” the workout was all a part of their plan with Donald as he assesses whether he wants to return to the NFL following his 2023 retirement.

“We’ve had a plan in place for a while … and the workout was one of those things,” McVay said, adding that Director of Strength and Conditioning Justin Lovett and Senior Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance Reggie Scott watched Donald alongside Smith on Tuesday. “And really, it was kind of semantical to be able to use the equipment and things like that, to fall under the legalities with CBA.”

McVay said Tuesday will be Donald’s only workout, at a team facility, and that the 35-year-old defensive lineman has other plans for workouts himself offsite. Donald doesn’t have to necessarily “show” anything to McVay, the Rams coach said, adding that the future Hall of Famer has earned the right to decide what’s best for him.

If that includes playing at least one more season with the Rams, joining a defensive unit that added reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in the offseason, McVay is all for it.

“It’s one of those deals that if he wants to do it, we’d be excited about the possibility,” McVay said. “And I think it’s really important to acknowledge that if he doesn’t, this guy gave this organization everything he had for 10 years. If he is going to do it, he’s going to do it the right way.”

NOTES

For the second consecutive day, the Rams’ defense had the better day at the office than the offense. … Quarterback Matthew Stafford returned after his planned day off and looked sharp. …

Linebacker Shaun Dolac returned an interception for a touchdown, picking off a pass over the middle from quarterback Stetson Bennett IV. … Elsewhere on defense, cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. had a solid day, making multiple plays in coverage matched up against wide receiver Davante Adams. …

McVay said he would prefer not to provide details about the team’s travel plans for the Sept. 11 season opener in Melbourne, Australia against the San Francisco 49ers, but he confirmed those plans are finalized.