Rams' Aaron Donald won't make game vs. 49ers in Australia after coming out of retirement

Aaron Donald 's gameday return to the Los Angeles Rams will have to wait.

Donald is not traveling with the Rams to Melbourne this week and will be inactive for L.A.'s season opener against the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday (8:35 p.m. ET, Netflix) in Australia, head coach Sean McVay confirmed Tuesday.

It's unclear when Donald will be ready to make his on-field debut with the team this season, though the franchise apparently wanted more time for him to ramp back up after he came out of retirement to rejoin the club in late August.

"I think he'll be ready to go sooner rather than later, but we're making a decision that we think is best for him and for our team," McVay said, via the OC Register's Benjamin Royer . "Being two years off retirement, he's attacked this the right way, but it would have been a really quick turnaround [to play in Australia]."

"I think he'll be ready to go sooner rather than later, but we're making a decision that we think is best for him and for our team," McVay said, via the OC Register's Benjamin Royer .

"Being two years off retirement, he's attacked this the right way, but it would have been a really quick turnaround [to play in Australia]."

Donald and the Rams announced late last month that they had reached a one-year, $20 million deal for him to come out of retirement and play for the team again. Donald missed the past two seasons after he retired in 2024. Donald racked up 111 sacks throughout his career, which is No. 33 on the NFL's all-time list, and he had 53 total tackles during his final season in 2023. He was a huge piece in the Rams' Super Bowl run during the 2021 season, too.

Rumors of Donald's return had been swirling for weeks before he made the decision, especially after the team landed Myles Garrett in a blockbuster trade back in June . Garrett, McVay said on Tuesday, will be ready to play against the 49ers.

Donald, now 35, said when he returned that he had been locked in to his training for the last 13 or 14 weeks, and was testing out his body to make sure he could still physically play professional football. The team has been ramping him up ever since to get him ready for the regular season after he missed nearly all of the preseason. He didn't participate in full 11-on-11 drills until Sunday, too, according to ESPN .

Clearly, Donald and the Rams feel he needs a bit more time to get to where he needs to be to play.

The Rams are flying to Melbourne on Tuesday night, and will land in the country on Thursday morning. They plan to leave shortly after the game on Friday morning local time, too, and will arrive back in Los Angeles less than three days after leaving. While Donald doesn't get to play in the contest, which is the first NFL regular-season game to be held in Australia, he does get to avoid two incredibly long travel days by sitting this one out.

The Rams will host the New York Giants in Week 2 after returning to the United States. That game at SoFi Stadium could be an ideal spot for Donald's debut, especially since the team will play on the road in back-to-back weeks after that.

Regardless, Donald's return will now officially be happening in the United States. When, however, is still unknown.