Is Aaron Donald injured? Here's why Rams star is not playing vs 49ers despite coming out of retirement

Aaron Donald will miss the Los Angeles Rams’ season opener against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, as he continues his return from retirement.

The three-time Defensive Player of the Year came out of retirement and rejoined the Rams on August 30, 2026, after missing the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Head coach Sean McVay said Donald would not travel to Australia for the long trip. The Rams want to bring him back slowly instead of rushing him into action at age 35.

“I think he’ll be ready to go sooner rather than later. But we’re making a decision that we think is best for him and for our team,” McVay said Tuesday.

“He’s as great a competitor as there is,” McVay added. “Wants to be out there. Wants to influence and affect positive change for us. But I think he also understands there’s a necessary ramp up.”

Aaron Donald’s absence means fans will have to wait to see him line up alongside Myles Garrett. The two are among the NFL’s most dominant pass rushers. Donald has 111 career sacks in 154 regular-season games, while Garrett has 125.5 sacks in 134 games.

Garrett is expected to make his Rams debut after being limited for much of training camp because of a knee injury. He has also enjoyed getting to know Donald.

“He smiles more than I thought,” Garrett said. “You see him on the field, he don't look like he smiles ever. But, yeah, he has a good sense of humor.”

Also Read: Are George Kittle and Nick Bosa playing tonight vs Rams? Latest 49ers injury updates for NFL Week 1

Depth chart

Here's the projected depth charts for the San Francisco 49ers vs Los Angeles Rams Week 1 matchup:

San Francisco 49ers

Offense QB: Brock Purdy, Mac Jones, Kurtis Rourke

RB: Christian McCaffrey, Kaelon Black, Jordan James

FB: Kyle Juszczyk

WR (L/X): Mike Evans, Demarcus Robinson

WR (R/Z): Deebo Samuel Sr., Jordan Watkins

WR (S/slot): De’Zhaun Stribling, Jacob Cowing

TE: George Kittle, Jake Tonges, Luke Farrell

LT: Trent Williams, Enrique Cruz Jr.

LG: Carver Willis, Connor Colby

C: Jake Brendel, Jarrett Patterson

RG: Dominick Puni

RT: Colton McKivitz, Vederian Lowe

Defense LDE: Keion White, Khalid Kareem

LDT: Osa Odighizuwa, C.J. West

RDT: C.J. West / Gracen Halton (Alfred Collins out; James Thompson Jr. also in mix)

RDE: Nick Bosa, Romello Height

WLB: Dre Greenlaw, Garret Wallow

MLB: Fred Warner, Tatum Bethune

SLB: Jaden Dugger / Luke Gifford

LCB: Renardo Green, Jack Jones

RCB: Deommodore Lenoir, Ephesians Prysock

NB: Upton Stout

SS: Malik Mustapha, Marques Sigle, Ashtyn Davis

FS: Ji’Ayir Brown, Siran Neal

Special Teams K: Eddy Piñeiro

P: Corliss Waitman

LS: Jon Weeks

PR/KR: Jacob Cowing / Deebo Samuel Sr. (and others)

Los Angeles Rams

Offense QB: Matthew Stafford, Stetson Bennett, Ty Simpson

RB: Kyren Williams, Blake Corum, Ronnie Rivers

WR (L/X): Davante Adams, Konata Mumpfield

WR (R/Z): Puka Nacua, Tutu Atwell, CJ Daniels

WR (S/slot): Jordan Whittington, Xavier Smith

TE: Colby Parkinson, Tyler Higbee, Terrance Ferguson, Davis Allen, Max Klare

LT: Alaric Jackson, David Quessenberry

LG: Steve Avila, Bill Murray / Beaux Limmer

C: Coleman Shelton, Dylan McMahon

RG: Kevin Dotson, Beaux Limmer

RT: Warren McClendon Jr.

Defense (note: Aaron Donald out) DE: Braden Fiske (starting in place of Aaron Donald), Tyler Davis