Aaron Donalds Rams return is a problem the 49ers werent expecting

SANTA CLARA — The San Francisco 49ers have an Aaron Donald problem.And it’s one they didn’t see coming.“Never thought he’d do it,” general manager John Lynch said Monday afternoon, a little over 24 hours after the future Hall of Famer announced he was coming out of retirement after two years away from the game.“But he’s doing it.

So we’d better get ready for it.”It remains to be seen if Donald, 35, will be in game shape by the time the 49ers open the season against the Rams next Thursday in Australia.But he’s already practicing and there’s precedent for the interior gamebreaker to pull off the quick turnaround after a long layoff.In 2018, Donald held out until Aug.

31 and played 62 of 70 possible snaps in their season opener on Sept.10, almost exactly mirroring the scenario this year — just a few years older.“I mean the guy’s different, right? He’s an exceptional player.

One of the greats,” Lynch said.“Now, there’s time away.

But I know that guy trains like a bad man.”Either way, it’s bad news for the 49ers’ outlook in the stacked NFC West. One of their primary competitors are the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, and the other might as well have been crowned the champions of the offseason. Donald is just the cherry on top for the Rams, who added a combined five Defensive Player of the Year awards, 14 first-team All-Pro appearances and five Super Bowl rings to their defense between him, Myles Garrett, Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson.It was hard not to think about the John Wooden quote that Lynch recounted to coach Kyle Shanahan after Los Angeles traded for Garrett earlier in the summer.Don’t lose sleep, worrying about your competition.Let them lose sleep worrying about you.“And as we were speaking,” Lynch said back in July of his exchange with Shanahan, “[the Garrett news] came out and Kyle said, ‘You know what? F John Wooden.’”The reaction inside the 49ers’ facility to the Rams’ reu...