LA Rams star Aaron Donald announces shock retirement from NFL at 32
Defensive lineman Aaron Donald has announced his retirement after a standout 10-year career with the Los Angeles Rams.
The three-time AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year made his surprise announcement on social media on Friday.
Donald, 32, spent his entire career with the Rams, who drafted him in the first round in 2014. He was selected to 10 Pro Bowls and eight All-Pro first teams, and won the league’s best defensive team award. player in 2017, 2018 and 2020.
“Throughout my career I gave everything to football both mentally and physically. 365 days a year I was committed to becoming the best possible player I could be,” Donald said in a statement. “I respected this game like no other, and I am blessed to end my NFL career with the same franchise that drafted me. Not many people get drafted to a team, win a world championship with that team and retire with that team. I don’t take that for granted, and I won’t.”
Although smaller than many top defensive tackles, Donald used his extraordinary athleticism and knowledge of the game to wreak havoc on offenses throughout his career. He was the cornerstone of every Rams defense during his career, drawing the usual double-teams away from his teammates and still racking up a franchise-record 111 sacks, third among active players.
Donald reached the height of his stardom after the Rams franchise moved from St. Louis back to Los Angeles in 2016. He had a career-high 20 and a half sacks in 2018 en route to his first Super Bowl appearance.
He then played a major role in the Rams’ run to a Super Bowl victory three years later, most notably providing the pressure that forced Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow to play incomplete at center field on the Bengals’ final play over the 23 -20 win in Los Angeles.
Lawrence Taylor and JJ Watt are the only other players to win the defensive player of the year award three times.
Donald was set to make more than $34 million this season under the terms of a contract that was renegotiated nearly two years ago. Although Donald had reportedly privately flirted with retirement over the past two seasons, the Rams and Donald had not publicly acknowledged that his departure was a real possibility.