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.
