Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald announced his retirement from the NFL earlier this week, which did not come as too much of a surprise.
Donald has contemplated retirement before, and with the Rams not looking like Super Bowl contenders any time soon, the fact that he has walked away from the game is understandable.
In a video posted to his Instagram account, Donald explained exactly why he chose to hang up his cleats.
“Ten years, 10 Pro Bowls, eight All-Pros, three defensive players of the year, rookie of the year, two NFC Championships, three NFC West championships, went to two Super Bowls, won one, lost one,” Donald said. “I’m complete. I’m full. I think the passion to play the game is no longer there for me. I will always love football, but to think about going through another camp and another 17 season, I just don’t got the urge to want to push myself to do that no more. I’m just, I’m burned out. The best way to say that is I’m full, I’m complete, I’m satisfied with what I was able to do in 10 years, and I think it’s time for me, at 32 years old, to retire from football and jump into the next step of my career and life and it’s time to move on.”
Donald, who played his collegiate football at the University of Pittsburgh, was selected by the Rams with the 13th overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft.
He went on to establish himself as one of the best defensive players to ever step on the gridiron, making the Pro Bowl every season he was in the league.
Donald’s best year came in 2018, when he racked up an NFL-leading 20.5 sacks to go along with 59 tackles, four forced fumbles and a couple of fumble recoveries.
The future Hall-of-Famer could probably play at least a couple of more years at a high level, as evidenced by the fact that he just registered 53 tackles and eight sacks this past season.
However, Donald is choosing to step away while he is still on top, and while he still has his health.
Seems like a wise move for Aaron Donald.
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