This upcoming NFL season will be missing a familiar face as Aaron Donald decided to hang up his cleats after the 2023 season. The future Hall of Famer put together one of the greatest, most consistently dominant careers ever for a defender and still clearly had a lot left in the tank last season; Donald posted eight sacks and was named first-team All-Pro for the eighth time. Nevertheless he decided to retire at 32 years old with over $150 million of career earnings.
While it didn't really come as a surprise, given Donald had hinted at retirement for two straight offseasons before actually filing the paperwork, a relatively early retirement by an excellent player who didn't suffer any decline means people will wonder if a comeback is in the cards. Even teammates.
To wit: appearing on Up & Adams with Kay Adams, Rams running back Kyren Williams suggested Donald unretire once Los Angeles gets to the playoffs.
"I'm hoping he's enjoying retirement," Williams told Adams. "And AD, when you see this, when we in the second round of the playoffs, dawg, come on! Open arms. We'll bring him back."
All Pro RB @Kyrenwilliams23 has a message for @AaronDonald97 if/when the #Rams make it back to the playoffs... 👀💪🗣️@RamsNFL @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/yOuXKgflHb
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) July 29, 2024
It is a terrifying concept to imagine L.A. being good enough to make it to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs and then adding a multi-time Defensive Player of the Year. Even as rusty as Donald would be, that would unnerve opposing offenses. And it would allow Donald to experience the rush of meaningful football without the accompanying grind, pain, and punishment from a full season.
However, the last time we saw a player try something like this, it didn't go so well. Marshawn Lynch spent most of the 2019 season as a free agent and seemed on a path to retirement before he signed with the Seattle Seahawks in the last week of the year. He ended up scoring two touchdowns for the Seahawks against the Green Bay Packers in the wild card round, but rushed the ball 12 times for 26 yards. Not exactly the Beast Mode we knew and loved.
It's unlikely Donald will follow a similar path. But not impossible, and Williams' plea will likely not be the last time you hear someone wondering aloud if Donald could return this season.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rams' Kyren Williams Wants Aaron Donald to Unretire for Playoff Run .
