Aaron Donald will not play for Rams in season opener vs. 49ers in Australia

Austin Knoblauch, Los Angeles Times on Sep 8, 2026

Published in Football

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LOS ANGELES — Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald will not travel with the team to Melbourne, Australia, to play in their season opener against the San Francisco 49ers, coach Sean McVay said Tuesday.

Donald, who rejoined the Rams last month after a two-year retirement, wouldn’t confirm if he was planning to play in the season opener when asked multiple times by reporters on Monday, only saying he was “feeling really good. Feeling great.”

The development is not too surprising considering McVay and his assistants were not committing to Donald playing in the game. Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula said Monday that the team was taking a “day-to-day” approach to the possibility of Donald playing.

Rams players and staff are scheduled to leave Los Angeles for Melbourne on Tuesday night, arriving in Australia on Thursday morning. The game will take place on Friday at 10:35 a.m. local time (5:35 p.m. PDT Thursday), with the Rams planning to fly back to L.A. soon after the game ends.

Barring any setbacks, Donald should play on Sept. 21 when the Rams face the New York Giants at SoFi Stadium.

One player who is expected to take the field at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday is Myles Garrett. McVay said the star defensive end will be “ready to go” after a left knee problem kept him out of practice for multiple weeks.