Aaron Donald is officially back from retirement, a move that instantly reshapes the landscape for the Los Angeles Rams. Rams fans are rejoicing over the return, and his wife’s response was priceless.
Back in early June, Pat McAfee had reached out to Donald after the Rams made news with their blockbuster deal with Myles Garrett. Rumors swirled that Donald was considering coming back, and McAfee reached out to see if he was considering coming out of retirnment.
Below was NFL superstar’s wife Erica Donald’s response to the rumors that June afternoon.
Just a couple of days ago, when the news broke that Donald would be back with the Rams, Erica wrote:
While speaking with reporter Aaron credited his wife for supporting him and helping him make this big decision.
“I think my wife played a huge part of me making this decision period because if the wife wasn’t happy, it wasn’t going to get done. I got to make sure that the household was good, the kids were okay with it all,” Donald said. “Then having the hard conversations, figuring things out, what I wanted to do. If I was to do it, how would we do it?
“My wife was on board. She said, ‘If you want to do this, (I’m) with (you) 100%,’ and there were days when I was like, ‘I don’t know.’ She talked to me enough to be like, ‘You want to do this. Don’t make no decisions faster than what you need to make a decision. Take your time.’ She played a huge part of me figuring this out because it really wasn’t an easy decision. It took a lot of hard work, a lot of long conversations with a lot of different people, but I felt good enough to make the decision to come back and do this.”
But excited Rams fans may not want to pop the champagne just yet because history doesn’t lie.
Historical Odds Do Not Lie
When the Rams announced Donald’s return on Sunday, the betting markets reacted immediately. DraftKings Sportsbook adjusted the team’s Super Bowl odds from +550 to +500 right away, according to NY Post Sports. That specific number, +500, is the danger zone for any team. In the last 20 instances where a preseason favorite carried odds of +500 or better, none of those squads succeeded in winning the big game. The last team to enter the regular season with those exact odds was the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024. They were the reigning back-to-back champions looking for a third straight Vince Lombardi trophy, but the Philadelphia Eagles instead crushed them during the big game. The Rams were also in this spot three times before while still in St. Louis. They fell short in 2000, 2001, and 2002. History is screaming that this Rams team is due to crash.
A Loaded Roster on Paper
Even though the odds aren’t great that Donald will have a breakout season, what the Rams have done, at least on paper, is impressive. One year after Myles Garrett set the NFL single-season sack record as reigning Defensive Player of the Year, the Rams acquired him via trade. Their offense was already a juggernaut last year, averaging 394.6 yards and scoring 30.5 points per game. That unit was led by reigning MVP Matthew Stafford, who threw for 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns. Now add Donald back to a defense that already has Garrett.
At least on paper, the Rams can score, and they can slow down the run and rush the passer. However, like all things in the NFL, it’s not what’s on paper that matters; it’s what happens on the gridiron.
