Aaron Donald reportedly contemplated retirement after winning Super Bowl 56 last February. Ultimately, he decided to return to the field and continue a surefire Hall of Fame career.
His 2022 failed to capitalize on that momentum. He played only 11 games due to injury and finished the year with a career-low five sacks. So in an offseason where rumors swirled that head coach Sean McVay might step away from the game — rumors McVay refuted by announcing he’d return for 2023 — it was fair to wonder whether the 31-year-old lineman would come back for a Rams team with an uncertain future.
Briefly, while the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills slowly went to war in the Wild Card round, Donald’s Twitter bio seemed to provide the answer.
That blurb read “Former Pitt Football Player #97 former NFL D Linemen for the Rams #99.” Fortunately for Los Angeles fans, Donald quickly edited his account to leave a bit more ambiguity about his future.
Donald has four years remaining on his contract after signing a three-year, $95 million extension after the 2021 season. He’d be vital for an aging Rams team in dire need of playmakers and little salary cap space or NFL Draft capital with which to acquire it. While there’s no definitive answer about his future yet, that didn’t stop fans from speculating about it online.
Orrrr maybe he’s converting to fullback https://t.co/aVrCLlM8Us
— prince j. grimes (@pgprincej) January 15, 2023
I love the chaos pic.twitter.com/cADaTO9bqX
— brady parker (@mcdonaldsussr) January 15, 2023
— CA&Dre (@CAandDre) January 15, 2023
Aaron Donald just made Sean McVay spit out his coffee and throw a lamp… that's a hell of a "whoopsies"
— Rich Ohrnberger (@ohrnberger) January 15, 2023
quiet quitting
quieter return https://t.co/5rCVz5n66n— Phil Murphy (@Phil_Sports) January 15, 2023
WE DONT HAVE TO FACE AARON DONALD TWO TIMES A YEAR ANYMORE https://t.co/UTQGithc20 pic.twitter.com/T8C8ql5hyB
— trace 🖤🇩🇴 (@SkyTrace29) January 15, 2023
Yeah really last I checked he’s just one man https://t.co/pbZV4xvhBv
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 15, 2023
Wow this makes Christian Barmore the standalone DT 1 https://t.co/EDJLDmkd1M
— Nick (@_Nick11_04) January 15, 2023
Aaron Gone-ald https://t.co/KZHk9RL7i5
— Sean M (@Sean_GMC) January 15, 2023
Did… Aaron Donald just retire? pic.twitter.com/0CLIGuZkj1
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) January 15, 2023
Aaron Donald tapping the “edit bio” button in the middle of a close playoff game: pic.twitter.com/txB7yRkguk
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) January 15, 2023
Aaron Donald coming back from “retirement” after 5 minutes: pic.twitter.com/P1z6JDoYIW
— Cesar 🥱 (@ClappedCesar) January 15, 2023
