The future of defending champion and Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald's is unknown as he contemplates retirement this offseason. Donald said this week that he would be "at peace" if he did decide to hang up his cleats, making many wonder if this was his hint that he is stepping away from the game.
Head coach Sean McVay weighed in on the situation during Rams OTAs on Wednesday, saying "things are trending in the right direction" as far as Donald's time in L.A. goes. McVay also said he expects Donald to attend the team's mandatory minicamp that takes place next week.
Donald, the 13th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, has said since he entered the league that he was going to "play eight years and be done". Well, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and seven-time first-team All-Pro completed his eighth season in February, when the Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
But with Los Angeles in the mix to become the first repeat champion since the 2003-04 New England Patriots, the opportunity might be too enticing for Donald to pass up.
"Winning a Super Bowl, you get kind of a little addicted to it," Donald said on Brandon Marshall's "I Am Athlete" podcast. "I ain't going to lie. I want to feel that again. That experience is like none other. If I was to play, it's just to win another Super Bowl."
However, Donald understands the NFL is a business, and he deserves to be paid like one of the best defensive linemen in the league. A lucrative new contract, combined with a chance to again hoist the Lombardi Trophy, sounds like it would be enough for Donald to return for Year 9.
"It ain't about the money, but it's a business at the end of the day," Donald said. "That's what you've got to see. For me, it's about winning. I don't want to play football if I can't win anyway, so I feel like if I got a real opportunity to win another Super Bowl, then it makes sense to play."
