Report: Aaron Donald Will Start Monday, But in a Rotation
Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reports the Rams will manage Donald's snaps in his season debut, and NFL Network separately puts the number at around 30 - new usage detail beyond this week's confirmation that he'd play at all.
Aaron Donald will start Monday night's game against the Giants but be used in a rotation rather than his pre-retirement full-time role, Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reported Sunday on the network's "Inside Scoop" segment.
"Donald is going to start this game tomorrow night; he's going to play in a rotation," Glazer said, according to Fox Sports, which posted video of the report to its @NFLonFOX account Sunday afternoon. Glazer also relayed a message from Donald: "Look, it's go time."
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo separately reported Sunday that Donald "should see about 30 snaps" against the Giants, a figure he did not attribute to Glazer. The two reports, from competing networks, both point to a managed workload rather than Donald's typical every-down role. Neither the Rams nor Donald has published a specific snap count publicly.
Donald retired in March 2024 and signed a one-year, $20 million contract to return to the Rams on Aug. 30; he did not play in the Rams' Week 1 loss to the 49ers. GiantsGator reported Saturday that coach Sean McVay had firmly confirmed Donald would play Monday.