Aaron Donald Is Back, and the Rest of the NFL Is Probably Screwed

The biggest nightmare for all 32 NFL quarterbacks came true on Sunday afternoon, as Aaron Donald officially unretired.

Donald has been flirting with an idea of returning to the Los Angeles Rams since their blockbuster trade for future Hall of Fame defensive end Myles Garrett. On Sunday, as rosters were getting trimmed around the NFL, Donald inked a deal to return to the Rams worth up to $30 million with postseason incentives.

After missing 2024 and 2025, the 35-year-old will suit up next to Myles Garrett, Byron Young and Braden Fiske – that’ll play.

The Rams have the best probability of winning the Super Bowl on prediction markets like Kalshi that allow users to buy and sell contracts of real-world outcomes, like the NFL season. In the hours following the news of Donald’s return to Los Angeles, the Rams surged on Kalshi, going from a 10% chance to win the Super Bowl up to a 16% chance.

Even though the Rams are a heavy favorite to win the Super Bowl that wouldn’t offer a big return, you can easily understand why this is a prediction worth making.

That defensive line anchored by Garrett and Donald is ferocious. Donald won’t even need to be the same level game-wrecker that helped the Rams win a Super Bowl in 2022. He’s got plenty of help with two-time Defensive Player of the Year in Garrett, while Young and Fiske are both above-average players.

In the event that opposing quarterbacks have enough time to throw, the Rams have superstar cornerback Trent McDuffie roaming in the secondary. Kamren Kinchens, Kam Curl and Quentin Lake round out an impressive secondary.

Offensively, the Rams will go as MVP Matthew Stafford goes. The 38-year-old will need to get the football to superstar wide receiver Puka Nacua, who could be in for a big season with extension talks looming. The Rams still have Davante Adams and Kyren Williams, which will help them be balanced on offense.

Even though Los Angeles has the 27th-toughest strength of schedule based on their opponents’ collective win percentage last year, the Rams are talented enough to hang with anyone in the NFL. They have championship-proven players on both sides of the football, and enough young talent from turning this organization into an actual retirement home.

The defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will be looking for another big year. The San Francisco 49ers are always competitive with head coach Kyle Shanahan. But will either of those teams be good enough to hang with THESE Rams? And the Arizona Cardinals should be a pair of easy victories for everyone in this division.

But if an older Rams team featuring Stafford, Garrett and now Donald can stay healthy, it’s hard to see anyone taking them down, even if that’s a chalky pick.