Aaron Donald announced his retirement from football last week, and Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay says that it was something the team knew was coming.
During a conversation with Steve Wyche of NFL Network, McVay said that while Donald never literally communicated to him that 2023 would be his last year, he simply knew.
“Aaron and I have such a special relationship,” McVay said, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “You know being around somebody as long as I’ve been around. When they are savoring moments, they are taking it in and without having to say, there was kind of unspoken understanding that I had that this was probably going to be his last year. What a great job he did leading, influencing and affecting throughout the course of his career, but it was really on display this year. With how young we were, especially on the defensive side of the ball. We’ve known for a while and you never replace an Aaron Donald. Fortunately, we had a little bit of time to get our ducks in a row but man, there’s truly one of one when you talk about him.”
Rumors of Donald’s retirement had been persisting for the last couple of seasons, so it was certainly no surprise when the superstar defensive lineman decided to call it quits.
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 made the Pro Bowl in all 10 of his seasons, also earning First-Team All-Pro honors eight times. On top of that, he won three Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Donald had his best individual campaign 2018, when he led the league with 20.5 sacks to go along with 59 tackles, four forced fumbles and a couple of fumble recoveries.
Of course, the shining moment of Donald’s career came in February 2022, when he helped lead Los Angeles to a Super Bowl championship.
The 32-year-old will unquestionably be in the Hall of Fame one day and will also be remembered as one of the greatest players of his general.
We’ll see how Sean McVay and the Rams manage without Aaron Donald’s presence in 2024.
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