Do the Seattle Seahawks have reason to be concerned about talks of NFL great Aaron Donald making a return to the angeles-rams/343" target="_blank">Los Angeles Rams next season?
The Seahawks won the NFC West division crown last season, but the Rams rivaled their level of strength throughout the season. It took a big performance from Seattle to defeat Los Angeles in the NFC Championship game last season and advance to the Super Bowl, which the Seahawks went on to win.
However, things have changed this offseason. The Rams pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for star cornerback Trent McDuffie in March. Then the Rams traded for AP Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett on Monday.
Now, another bombshell has unfolded, as Donald came out earlier this month stating that he’s “for sure flirting with the idea” of coming out of retirement to form a juggernaut in Los Angeles with the Rams next season, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
Donald is one of the greatest NFL players of all-time. The eight-time first-team All-Pro honoree led the Rams to a Super Bowl victory in the 2021 season. He retired prior to the start of the 2024 season, but walked away from the game as a first-team All-Pro who recorded eight sacks in his final season in 2023.
In the event that Donald returns to the Rams in 2026 and is still the same caliber of player that he was in 2023, after sitting out the last two seasons, it is unfathomable to envision what he and Garrett will be able to do in Los Angeles’ front four next season.
The Rams got much stronger as a team this offseason, while the Seahawks made moves in free agency and the draft to replace departing stars, but did not upgrade their roster with generational talents the way Los Angeles has and appears likely to continue doing. Donald will make Los Angeles an even greater favorite to take the division and win the Super Bowl, though the Seahawks will still be capable of beating them, or any other team as formidable threats themselves.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Could Rams DT Aaron Donald potentially return for 2026 NFL season?
