What a career Aaron Donald had…and what a void he leaves on the Rams. Rams all-time great defensive tackle Aaron Donald announced his rather early retirement today, and it goes without saying that his absence leaves a huge void in the Rams team.
I hate to say this, but there’s just no replacing Aaron Donald.
In what has to be the most devastating retirement in regard to the impact his void leaves on his former team this offseason, Aaron Donald has announced today that he’s retiring from the NFL and last season was his last year with the Los Angeles Rams. And, like I said, there’s just no replacing a man as great as Aaron Donald was.
I don’t blame Rams fans for crying the moment they saw this story break.
After 10 seasons spent all with the Rams organization (2 in St. Louis, 8 in Los Angeles), all-time franchise great Aaron Donald has announced his retirement to cap off his career. And, boy, what a career Aaron Donald had.
There’s a reason why Aaron Donald is perhaps the greatest defensive tackle to have ever played in the National Football League for in ten seasons, Donald racked up 10 straight Pro Bowl nominations (2014-2024), 8 All-Pro 1st Team nods (and 7 straight from 2015-2022), he won the 2014 Defensive Rookie of the Year, he won 3 Defensive Player of the Year awards (2017, 2018, 2020), he earned Top-3 Defensive Player of the Year votes in seven straight season (2015-2022).
Moreover, he accumulated 111.0 career sacks (28th all-time, 2nd all-time for defensive tackles), 543 tackles, 176 TFLs (3rd most all-time in recorded NFL history), 260 QB hits, 24 FF, 7 FR, 21 PD, and 1 safety. Remember, he did all of this as almost exclusively a defensive tackle…which is one of the most under rewarded positions on the stat sheet in the league.
But, it’s quite clear that Aaron Donald’s two crowing achievements were the two Super Bowls appearances he helped lead the Rams in 2019 and 2022, respectively. And, of course, the 2023 Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals is the icing on the cake as that victory may have cemented his legacy as the greatest defensive player EVER.
Regardless of whether or not one subscribes to the belief of Donald’s mastery over ALL defensive players past and present, there can be no dispute over who has had the biggest impact on the Rams roster these last ten years. Whether offense or defense, Donald has been the rock of every single Rams team.
When they were winning Super Bowls and division titles, Aaron Donald was the key player opposing teams feared and game planed for. Two seasons ago when the Rams completely bottomed out and had one of the worst Super Bowl defenses in NFL history, Aaron Donald was still the most feared player on that team with his Pro Bowl selection to prove it (even though injuries kept him out of 7 games).
And, during this past season with so much turmoil and fresh faces infused into the Rams defense, Aaron Donald was once again the guy who held it all together and had an 1st Team All-Pro caliber season as the Rams nearly knocked off the eventual NFC Conference Championship contender Detroit Lions.
In other words, Aaron Donald IS the Los Angeles Rams franchise…and now the team needs to find the next defensive leader to rely upon for this Rams defense is still very young and shaky.
But, as for Aaron Donald, I just want to say congratulations on such a fantastic career. You really were one of the greatest players the game has ever seen, and I wish you well in retirement!
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