It’s the first season in well over a decade that Aaron Donald isn’t on the field for Week 1 of a football season — whether that’s high school, college or the NFL.
His former NFL team, the Los Angeles Rams, kicked off the 2024-25 season against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit, and Donald wasn’t there. He was back home, asleep on the couch with his wife Erica. And while the Rams could’ve used Donald on the field, it appears as though he’s happy at home.
Erica took a video of a seemingly sleeping Donald, with the Sunday Night Football broadcast playing in the broadcast, asking if Donald was coming back this season.
“Aaron, the people are still asking if you’re coming back. Alright, guys, hope that answers your question ’cause he is not.”
Donald announced his retirement from the NFL on March 15 and concluded one of the greatest careers in NFL history — a first-ballot Hall of Fame legacy and a legitimate claim as the defensive football player of all time.
Donald was a first round selection out of Pitt in 2014, following a standout career in Pittsburgh. He racked up 181 tackles (115 solo), 66 tackles for loss, 29.5 sacks, forced six fumbles and defended 10 passes during his time as a Panther. And, of course, his time as a star at Penn Hills in the late 2000s.
Donald had a senior season for the ages, racking up 59 tackles (43 solo), 28.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, four forced fumbles and three passes defended, rounding out one of the best defensive efforts in Pitt history — and college football history.
In 10 seasons in the NFL, he racked up 543 tackles (340 solo), 176 tackles for loss, 111 sacks, 24 forced fumbles and seven recoveries and 21 pass breakups — cementing himself as one of the greats in just 10 seasons.
Aaron Donald will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, already regarded as one of the best defensive players of all time, but it appears that his playing career is over. He may be young, just 33 years old and coming off a first-team All-Pro season, but his time as an NFL player — by all accounts — is over.
Of course, he will continue to train at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex and run his annual ‘Living in the Pocket’ Skills camp, but that appears to be the extent of his on-field play.
Donald will certainly be active in the Pittsburgh area in the years to come.
Duzz needs to get him on his staff!
Maybe he’ll be the new athletic director?
Enjoy your life AD. You earned it.