Aaron Donald is back, and the Rams are back. The next question is whether Donald will be back on the field when new Rams coach Sean McVay gets a chance to get back at his former team.
“The plan is to get him going just back into the flow of a normal weekly rhythm like all of our players do,” McVay told reporters on Monday. “He’s back here with us now and looking to get him going. As far as how he’ll be utilized in this game and kind of exactly what that plan entails is going to be predicated on how he feels going out to practice and getting involved.”
McVay said the goal is to get Donald ready to play on Sunday.
“He’s back here and that’s a step in the right direction,” McVay said. “Today was really about kind of wrapping up yesterday’s game and getting a preview on Washington’s personnel. Tomorrow is a player’s day off and then we’ll come back Wednesday where, really after this and then going into tomorrow, we’ll have a better idea exactly how we want to break that plan down with Aaron. But, I think like we’ve mentioned, just getting him back in here is the first step and definitely want to try to get him on the field.”
Some have suggested that Donald won’t play until he gets his new contract. One of McVay’s comments could be interpreted as suggesting that Donald wants to get his status resolved before he plays in a game.
“He just wants to get here, get a solution to this and get back with his teammates and compete and play the game that he loves,” McVay said. “That’s the impression that I get from the interactions that I’ve had with him.”
Donald stayed away to avoid injury risk. He’s now back, returning in a way that eliminated financial losses. It will be interesting to see whether he plays if he doesn’t get financial security.