Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald announced his retirement from the NFL late last week, and head coach Sean McVay says that Donald had essentially made that decision after the team’s Wild Card Round playoff loss to the Detroit Lions in January.

While speaking to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, McVay revealed that Donald said “I’m full” following the Rams’ defeat in Detroit.

“I’m just like, ‘And you should be. You have every right to feel that way,’” McVay told Breer. “What an amazing thing. The words won’t do justice to the way that he so eloquently articulated it to me and just put it in a way that, as a human being, all you’re really looking for is to be at peace and to be happy. He was full. And, man, did you feel that. You’re just so happy because he earned it too.”

In other words, Donald was content with everything he accomplished in the NFL, and he decided to hang up his cleats knowing he felt satisfied.

And who could blame Donald?

The 32-year-old made the Pro Bowl in all 10 of his NFL seasons while also earning eight First-Team All-Pro selections. On top of that, he won three Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Of course, most importantly, the biggest highlight of Donald’s career came in February 2022, when he helped lead Los Angeles to a Super Bowl championship.

What was left for Donald to achieve on the NFL level? Not much.

The University of Pittsburgh product was selected by the Rams with the 13th overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. At that time, the franchise was still in St. Louis.

Donald enjoyed his best individual campaign in 2018, when he racked up a league-leading 20.5 sacks to go along with 59 tackles, four forced fumbles and a couple of fumble recoveries.

We’ll see what’s next for Aaron Donald as he enjoys retirement.

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