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Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald could retire if the team defeats the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl 2022. On NBC’s Super Bowl pregame show, NFL analyst Rodney Harrison said that the eight-time Pro Bowl player told him there's a strong possibility he could retire if the Rams win the Super Bowl.
The former San Diego Chargers (now L.A. Chargers) and New England Patriots safety said that Donald is big on legacy and that there’s a strong possibility he could retire should they win:
“He’s big on legacy,” Harrison said. “He doesn’t want to be known as a defender that accomplished so many individual things and never won a Super Bowl. But he also told me this: If he wins a Super Bowl, there’s a strong possibility he could walk away from the game and retire.”
Aaron Donald's NFL Career
The 30-year-old was drafted in the first round (13th overall) by the then-St. Louis Rams in the 2014 NFL Draft. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year after having nine sacks with 48 combined tackles and two forced fumbles in 12 starts in 2014. The Rams defensive tackle finished in the top 20 in sacks that season as well.
In the 2015 season, the defensive tackle followed the nine sacks he had in his rookie season with 11 sacks, finishing second in the Defensive Player of the Year award to Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt. Donald led the NFL in sacks in the 2018 season with 20.5 sacks and 25 tackles for loss.
The 20.5 sacks are tied with Watt for the fourth-most in NFL history, winning his second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year Award after winning it in 2017.
He won his unprecedented third Defensive Player of the Year award in 2020 after a 13.5 sacking season. In total, six of his eight seasons have been with double-digit sacks.
His 98 sacks are the fifth-most sacks among active players and 150 career tackles for loss are the fifth-most as well. The 150 career tackles for loss are the ninth-most in league history.
Only him, Watt, and Hall of Fame New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor have won Defensive Player of the Year three times.
If the Rams defeat the Bengals and Donald hangs up the cleats, he will be a first ballot Hall of Famer for sure.
