Aaron Donald grew up in Pittsburgh, still resides there for part of the offseason and does a ton of community work in his hometown. With such close ties to the city, it’s understandable that Donald was a big Steelers fan when he was younger.
Even to this day, he considers himself a Steelers fan despite playing for the Los Angeles Rams. The only exception? When the Rams are playing the Steelers, just as they are this weekend at SoFi Stadium.
“We all grew up big Steelers fans,” Donald said of his family. “I still consider myself a Steelers fan, obviously, until we got to play them. I still look to see if they’re doing good. I’m still a Steelers fan myself until we got to suit up and play against them. So whole family is still Steelers fans, but now more Rams fans but it’s pretty cool.”
Donald isn’t treating this matchup any differently than a typical game, calling it “just another week.” What might make it a bit more special, though, is the fact that he’ll have some extra supporters in the stands.
“The whole family going to be out here, so I guess that’s going to be cool,” Donald said.
The three-time Defensive Player of the Year trains in Pittsburgh during the offseason, so he does bump into Steelers players now and then when they’re training.
“I see a lot of those guys,” he said. “Obviously in OTAs I’m back in Pittsburgh still so I see those guys practicing and see those guys, walk past those guys. I see a couple say what’s up to them. So yeah, I see those guys a lot. See Coach (Mike) Tomlin out there. So yeah, it’s pretty cool.”
There are some fans who think (or maybe hope) Donald might want to finish his career in Pittsburgh, returning home for the final year(s) of his career. That’s not on his mind, though. He says it never really has been.
“Not really. I never thought of it,” he said. “I never thought about it but no, no.”
Donald has faced the Steelers twice in his career, losing both matchups in Pittsburgh. He had a sack and three tackles for a loss in each game, so he did his part, but hopefully this time it results in a victory at home.
