McVay says Rams 'hopeful' Donald will play vs. Giants on MNF

• 

  Sarah BarshopSep 17, 2026, 06:27 PM ET

  Close

  Sarah Barshop covers the Los Angeles Rams for ESPN. She joined ESPN in 2016 to cover the Green Bay Packers for ESPN Milwaukee. She then moved to Houston to cover the Texans. She came to ESPN after working as a writer and editor for Sports Illustrated.

LOS ANGELES -- Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald will practice in full on Thursday and the team is "hopeful" he will play on Monday night against the New York Giants, coach Sean McVay said.

Donald came out of retirement on Aug. 30 after two years of retirement. The defensive tackle did not travel to the Rams' Week 1 loss against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia.

When asked whether there are specific benchmarks the Rams are looking for when determining whether Donald plays this week, McVay said, "It's more along the line of how does he feel?"

McVay said Donald is "obviously chomping at the bit" to play, but that there haven't been many opportunities for the defensive tackle to take part in teams drills given the Rams' Week 1 travel schedule.

"But what we are hopeful is, is that we'll have some good work today and tomorrow and then hopefully he's feeling good enough and if he says he's ready to go, then we'll be excited to see him," McVay said.

McVay also said defensive end Myles Garrett is "feeling good" after his Monday knee surgery, but the head coach said he still doesn't want to put a timeline on his return.

Garrett, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, missed most of training camp while dealing with what McVay called swelling in his knee. On Monday, McVay said the thought was Garrett could play though the injury, but it was obvious in Week 1 that was not the case.

"You already see he had crutches yesterday and then he was walking without crutches today," McVay said. "So he's like Wolverine healing fast."

Garrett will miss at least the next four games on injured reserve.

"We're not going to rush him back," McVay said. "We want to make sure that he's feeling good, he's able to get out on the practice field, do all the things that are necessary for him to perform at a level that he's been accustomed to."