The Los Angeles Rams are a younger team on the rise after making the 2023 Playoffs despite completely overhauling their roster and coaching staff the previous offseason.
The Rams were widely expected to miss the playoffs for a second consecutive year, but instead McVay and his staff were able to get the most out of the team and lead them to a wild card round appearance. Although Los Angeles narrowly lost to the Detroit Lions, it was a positive step forward for the organization who is primed to make some noise in 2024.
However, the Rams lost the heart and soul of the team when Aaron Donald announced his retirement from the NFL after 10 seasons. Donald spent his entire career with Los Angeles and will go down as arguably the greatest player in franchise history.
A couple of weeks after Donald’s announcement, the Rams paid tribute to their star defensive tackle with a full page ad in the L.A. Times:
It’s a touching gesture from the organization who should be eternally grateful to have had Donald play for them for a decade. During his time as a player, no defender was feared more than him because he had the ability to single-handedly wreck a game.
During his illustrious career, Donald won three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards to go along with 10 Pro Bowls, eight First-Time All-Pro nods, Defensive Rookie of the Year and of course a Super Bowl LVI championship ring. There are few players in the league’s history that have comparable resumes to Donald.
His retirement wasn’t a complete surprise, though, as both general manager Les Snead and McVay were non-committal about him returning in 2024. Donald had been mulling retirement every season since winning a Super Bowl and he decided to leave the game of football while he was fully healthy.
While Donald hasn’t announced what his next venture will be, he’ll always be loved in the city of Los Angeles for what he did as a member of the Rams.
Aaron Donald told Sean McVay ‘I’m full’ after Rams loss to Lions
While fans were left in the dark about what Donald would do in the offseason, McVay already knew he would be losing his superstar defensive lineman. After the loss to the Lions in the playoffs, Donald told McVay he was full.
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