Aaron Donald (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Aaron Donald may not stay retired for long, Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead indicated in a fascinating new interview.
It’s been nearly two months now since Aaron Donald announced his retirement following a near-flawless 10-year career. The 10-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle spent his entire career with the Rams, leading them to two Super Bowl appearances and a Lombardi Trophy in the 2021 season.
Donald certainly showed no signs of slowing down in his age-32 season, tallying eight sacks and three pass defenses en route to his eighth career First-team All-Pro nod.
During an appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show”, Snead stated that he might give Donald a call late in the 2024 season to unretire and suit up for a playoff run. LA did this two years ago with Pro Bowl safety Eric Weddle, who got to retire on top with a Super Bowl 56 championship ring:
“I did mention to Aaron that going back to our Super Bowl run, that there was a player by the name of Eric Weddle, who kind of jumped into the playoffs, and we signed him to the practice squad. And we standard elevated him for four straight games to a Super Bowl championship. So, I did mention if we happen to get to the playoffs again, maybe we’ll circle back and see if the cup’s not quite filled. But that’s just a rumor. I doubt Aaron’s going to do that.”
There’s no shortage of NFL legends who decided to come out of retirement after sitting out for some time. This includes the aforementioned Weddle, Deion Sanders (returned in 2004 after a three-year retirement), Rob Gronkowski, Marshawn Lynch, Randy Moss and Reggie White.
Of course, Tom Brady was retired for only 40 days in the 2022 offseason before committing to his 23rd season. It’s unlikely, but perhaps Donald will quickly feel the itch to play again and return to football well before the 2024 campaign begins.
Aaron Donald’s Return Would Be A Huge Boost For The Rams
The Rams returned to the postseason with a 10-7 record last year and narrowly upset the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card Round. This team clearly has enough pieces to contend in the NFC, and a possible Donald return would go a long way in helping them win another championship.
Of course, the Rams are wise enough to know that they can’t realistically count on Donald unretiring. But if he regained the desire to play again, it would be a welcoming bonus.
