Aaron Donald worked tirelessly to become the best defensive player of this generation, so while it was surprising to see him announce his retirement after 10 seasons in the NFL, it’s understandable that he’d want to leave the game at 32 years old and in good health. In his retirement announcement on social media, Donald said he doesn’t know what’s next for him but we can get a decent idea where he might be headed eventually based on his past comments.
Back in 2022, Donald mentioned that he’s interested in an acting career, and he didn’t sound iffy on the subject. It’s something he wants to pursue and has already dipped his toes into the Hollywood waters.
He made a cameo in the TV show “Magnum PI” in 2019, his first real foray into acting.
“I got certain things I want to get involved with. I got a little acting career I want to do after football,” he said in 2022. “Got different business ventures I want to be a part of, but at the end of the day, I’m the type of guy that I need to learn everything. Once I got the time to really absorb and continuing to learn the business side, I got different things I want to be a part of.”
Donald would also probably make a great coach, should he want to go down that path. He’s taken younger players under his wing in the past and has a knack for teaching on and off the field.
But it seems like Donald’s next step is to pursue a career in acting, something Peter Schrager mentioned on “Good Morning Football” Monday.
“I am not kidding,” Schrager said. “Him being in Hollywood for the last (eight) years, I look at John Cena, I look at The Rock, I look at what Travis Kelce is going to be getting into. I could see Aaron Donald, with his body, his physique and his place in L.A., potentially having some sort of Hollywood career.”
Thoughts from @gmfb on Aaron Donald’s retirement , how the Rams knew and prepared , and why the Rams building took pride in the fact it wasn’t leaked or public information. pic.twitter.com/Or0bDC5KcH
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) March 18, 2024
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said on the “Pat McAfee Show” last week that he thought Donald was going to retire two years ago and go be an action movie star.
“Two more years, get to 33, retire as a Top-5 greatest defensive player in the history of the NFL, and then go be an action movie star, which I think he’ll probably do next,” said Rapoport. “I thought he was going to retire two years ago. Remember this? He told the Rams he was going to retire, they ended up with a new contract. I thought he was going to go be an action movie star. He would be amazing. He’s good at basically everything, so that makes sense.”
The breadcrumbs are there for Donald to become a star in action movies because he’s absolutely ripped and has the charisma to make it on the big screen – or on TV, too. So while we may not see him on Sundays anymore, perhaps we’ll see AD on our TVs in a different way.
