After missing Week 1 in Australia against the San Francisco 49ers as he ramps back up from a multi-year retirement, the biggest question surrounding the Los Angeles Rams heading into Week 2 is whether or not Aaron Donald will make his 2026 debut against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football.

While Sean McVay has been reluctant to say either way, ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Rapoport believes all signs are pointing in that direction, which is good for everyone but the Giants.

“I want to talk about Aaron Donald, obviously one of the biggest storylines in the NFL, basically this entire offseason, the Rams signed him; he came out of retirement (and he) has yet to play. Could he make his return on Monday Night Football at home against the Giants? I would say this: there is a very, very realistic chance,” Rapoport said.

“It feels to me, based on the people I've spoken with, that Aaron Donald is targeting Monday night to return. I'm not going to say he's going to get there, but there's, he's got to make sure his body is right. He's got to make sure he's in football shape. He's got to make sure he can recover and return quickly. And all of those things you need to do when you make a comeback at 35 after two years off. But the goal would be to be out there against the Giants with the entire country watching. And that would be excellent, excellent news for everybody except for the Giants offensive line.”

On one hand, the idea of Donald taking a little extra time to get up to football speed after calling it a career in March of 2024 makes sense. Even if 80 percent of Donald would be the best defensive tackle on most teams, being in football shape is paramount to avoid injuries and excessive wear and tear. And yet, after Myles Garrett landed on IR, the Rams kind of need Donald to get on the field in order to remain competitive, especially sitting at 0-1 heading into Monday Night Football.