Aaron Donald is back, and the Rams just became the scariest team in football
At 35, with two years of rust, Aaron Donald signed a one-year deal to return to the Rams and line up next to Myles Garrett. The NFL season hasn't started yet, and Los Angeles is already everyone's problem.
In brief
Aaron Donald is back, and the Rams just became the scariest team in football
He walked away in the spring of 2024 with a Super Bowl ring, three Defensive Player of the Year awards and what seemed like a very final goodbye. Then Myles Garrett showed up in Los Angeles, and Aaron Donald couldn't stay retired.
Defensive tackle Aaron Donald is coming out of retirement and will play for the Los Angeles Rams in 2026 on a one-year, $20 million contract, as reported by NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and ESPN's Adam Schefter. The announcement landed Sunday, August 30 - eight days before the regular season opener - and immediately reshuffled every Super Bowl conversation.
Donald, 35, is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and an eight-time first-team All-Pro who last played in the NFL in the 2023 season. Two full years off. And he's walking back into arguably the most loaded defensive front the league has seen in a generation.
What pulled him back
The answer, essentially, is Garrett. The Rams had stacked their team, including acquiring reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, and that was enough to lure Donald back. Donald said in June that the Garrett trade "for sure got me thinking" and that he wanted to see if "that fire can light back up."
He took a key step in that process on August 5 when he worked out with the Rams, and he tried out again for the team 11 days later. And then, Sunday, it was done. His wife was the final piece. "If the wife wasn't happy it wasn't gonna get done," Donald said after signing. "My wife was on board and she was with me 100%."
At his press conference Sunday, Donald talked about his new teammate: "I talked to Myles... We teammates now... Hopefully we do some special things together."
The deal and what it could pay out
The base is $20 million, but the structure is built for October and beyond. Donald's potential earnings include a base salary of $10 million, a wild-card round incentive of $1.25 million if he's active and meets a 15 percent defensive snap threshold, a divisional-round incentive of $1.25 million under the same conditions, a conference championship incentive of $2.5 million contingent on winning and playing at least 20 percent of defensive snaps, and a Super Bowl incentive of $2.5 million with the same snap requirement. The maximum payout for Donald in 2026 is $30 million.
In other words, the Rams built a contract that pays Donald more the deeper they go. If Los Angeles wins it all and he's on the field for it, he cashes out at $30 million for one season at age 35. That's the bet.
What the Rams now have
The roster Sean McVay has assembled in 2026 is genuinely absurd. The Rams include Donald, Garrett, former Chiefs All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, former All-Pro receiver Davante Adams, fellow wideout Puka Nacua, and quarterback Matthew Stafford, the reigning league MVP.
On the defensive line alone, the numbers between Donald and Garrett are staggering. Between the two linemen, Garrett and Donald have won five Defensive Player of the Year awards and have recorded a combined 236.5 sacks during their careers. Garrett set the NFL's single-season sack record last year - 23. Donald, in his prime, was the best interior pass-rusher the sport has ever produced.
The move further catapulted the Rams into the betting favorite to win Super Bowl LXI. That's saying something, because they were already favorites before Sunday.
McVay, as expected, isn't promising anything about Week 1. "Good to be able to get Aaron back into the mix," McVay said. "You guys know how close we are and there's been a lot of dialogue that we've had and excited to be able to just take it a day at a time. I'm not going to talk about any sort of plans. It's going to be a day at a time for us."
The obvious question: can he actually do this?
Two years away from football at 35 is not nothing. No one knows exactly what caliber of player Donald will be at 35 years old, with two seasons of rust. That's just honest. But the people who have watched him work this summer aren't worried. His viral workout videos and previous greatness suggest he can still do some significant damage. McVay himself said before the signing was official: "Bet you he can still do it at a pretty high clip."
Donald doesn't need to be the player he once was. If he's anywhere from 60 to 80 percent of his previous level, he will remain a force, because the Rams are loaded up front, starting with Garrett. That's the real point. Donald doesn't have to carry anything. He just has to be Aaron Donald-ish, and the defense around him covers the rest.
Donald also joins the list of notable NFL players to return after a brief retirement, which includes Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Philip Rivers, Marshawn Lynch, Deion Sanders, and Reggie White. He's in good company on that list. Most of them, it worked out.
One other note from cutdown day
While Donald's return dominated the weekend's headlines, roster cutdown day Sunday produced its own notable casualty. The Tennessee Titans officially moved on from quarterback Will Levis, waiving him as the team trimmed its roster to 53 players ahead of the 2026 season.
It's a hard fall. The Titans selected Levis with the 33rd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and he quickly generated excitement during his rookie season, throwing four touchdown passes in his first NFL start against the Atlanta Falcons. He started 21 games for Tennessee over 2023 and 2024, finishing with a 5-16 record while throwing 21 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Then the injuries hit, the Titans used the first overall pick in 2025 on Cam Ward, and that was that.
In a bit of a surprise, Levis went unclaimed on the waiver wire, meaning no other NFL team wanted him to be a backup. Three years ago he was a projected franchise quarterback. Today he's a free agent looking for any team that will have him.
The NFL's opening week is September 9. Donald will be getting acclimated. Levis will be watching from somewhere else.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
