Aaron Donald made his presence felt even before the first snap in his long-awaited NFL return on Monday, with quarterback Matthew Stafford admitting he couldn't contain his excitement as the 35-year-old charged out of the tunnel.
"I was so juiced," Stafford said postgame, according to team writer Stu Jackson. "He came running out of the tunnel, and I couldn't control myself. I was freaking fired up."
His teammates and coaches clearly felt the same energy at SoFi Stadium.
"If you didn't get chills when he was introduced, then you're not freaking alive," head coach Sean McVay said.
CHILLS 💛 @AaronDonald97@NYGvsLAR on ESPN
— NFL (@NFL) September 22, 2026
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/n1cFpLUmSB
Monday night's 28-6 win over the New York Giants was Donald's first game since the 2023 season finale and his first time playing in front of the Rams faithful since Week 16 of that campaign.
After the game, Donald said that it felt good to be back, calling the reception "special."
Though he played just 33 defensive snaps, Donald still made an impact, registering three tackles and one tackle for a loss. He later acknowledged that he may have been a bit too fired up.
"The game really wasn't as fast as I thought," Donald said. "It was more of me calming myself down, overrunning stuff, or just my feet not being in the ground how they supposed to be, not trusting my eyes, little stuff like that. But playing the game, when I held out in '17, '18, it was the same way when I came back - it took a couple games to get going. It's a little different. I ain't played in two years, so I gotta watch the film, see what I did good, see what I did wrong, and just clean it up."
The 1-1 Rams head to Denver for another prime-time matchup against the Broncos on Sunday.
