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DONALD RETURNS
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Aaron Donald has returned to the Los Angeles Rams, ending his retirement after 2 1/2 years to join Myles Garrett on their defensive line.
The Rams announced the 35-year-old Donald’s decision Sunday following several weeks of discussion, preparation and intensive workouts for the star defensive lineman.
Donald agreed to a one-year contract, and ESPN reported he will make at least $20 million in an incentive-laden deal.
Donald became one of the greatest defensive players of his era during his first 10 seasons spent entirely with the Rams in St. Louis and Los Angeles. He won three AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards while earning 10 Pro Bowl selections, eight All-Pro selections and a Super Bowl ring before he retired somewhat abruptly in March 2024.
After two seasons enjoying retirement with his family, Donald began to entertain the notion of a comeback this summer after the Rams traded for Garrett, one of Donald’s few peers in contemporary defensive line play. Donald and Garrett have combined to win five of the AP’s past nine Defensive Player of the Year awards, including two of the past three for Garrett with the Cleveland Browns.
Donald went through nearly two months of physical preparation for his comeback, working out at the Rams’ training complex and elsewhere as he tested his body for the rigors of another NFL season.
MCCORD TO DOLPHINS
MIAMI (AP) -- One day after trading Quinn Ewers to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Miami Dolphins landed a new backup quarterback by acquiring Kyle McCord from the Green Bay Packers in exchange for a 2028 sixth-round draft pick.
The Dolphins had acquired a 2028 sixth-round selection from Jacksonville in the Ewers trade.
McCord had played the Packers’ entire preseason finale against Arizona on Friday and threw four touchdown passes, including two in the final 3 ½ minutes of a 42-38 victory. But the Packers already had a proven backup quarterback on their roster after signing Tyrod Taylor in May.
Rather than keeping three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster or trying to see if McCord could clear waivers and land on their practice squad, the Packers sent him to Miami. He becomes the latest recent connection between these two franchises.
Miami has former Packers executive Jon-Eric Sullivan as general manager and former Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as head coach. Now they have acquired McCord from Green Bay to back up Malik Willis, who signed a three-year, $67.5 million contract with Miami in March after backing up Jordan Love in Green Bay for the last two years.
The Packers host the Dolphins this season on Dec. 20.
McCord spent the 2025 season on the practice squad of the Philadelphia Eagles, who drafted him in the sixth round a year ago. The Packers signed him on Jan. 20.
The 6-foot-3 quarterback played collegiately at Ohio State from 2021-23 -- making one start as a freshman against Akron -- and at Syracuse in 2024. He threw for 4,779 yards at Syracuse to set an Atlantic Coast Conference single-season record.
COOPER EXEMPT
DENVER (AP) -- Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper, who’s facing a felony strangulation charge, will start the season on the commissioner’s exempt list.
The NFL’s decision Sunday means Cooper will continue to get paid for the time being and is allowed at the team’s training facilities but cannot practice with the team or play in games.
“It’s part of the process,” general manager George Paton said. “We continue to take this very seriously. We’re going to continue to monitor all the legal developments and continue to support Jonathon. Jonathon’s worked very hard to better himself and it’ll be good to have him in the building, be in meetings and just be a part of the team.”
Cooper faces an arraignment Monday on several charges following two domestic-violence arrests in June stemming from altercations with a woman he was dating at the time. He’s expected to enter a plea at that hearing unless an agreement is reached beforehand between prosecutors and Cooper’s lawyer, Harvey Steinberg.
Cooper -- who played at Ohio State from 2016-20 -- was allowed to participate in training camp and on Friday was one of the Broncos’ captains in their preseason finale, a 34-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
The league is investigating Cooper’s situation and the sixth-year pro could face a lengthy suspension under the NFL’s domestic violence policy. Any games he serves on the exempt list would count toward his suspension, but he would also have to repay the money he earned while on the exempt list.