Three Super Bowl Legends That Came Out of Retirement 

Two years removed from playing, Aaron Donald was spotted training in Rams’ facilities, wearing a Rams helmet while working out at UCLA. Even Rams head coach Sean McVay commented on the NFL rumors: "Did it come across as a tryout?" he said during an on-site interview with Gregg Rosenthal and Jourdan Rodrigue in one episode of "NFL Daily." “Best tryout that we’ve ever had.” “I think he could make the team.”

While some legends simply retire and move on, others treat it like hitting a pause button — and once the urge to make another run for the championship or to play just one more game hits them too hard, they return to football. These are just three players who prove retiring from football is easier said than done.

1. Rob Gronkowski

The first retirement of Rob Gronkowski, which was announced in March 2019, appeared to be the real deal. After nine seasons of brutal punishment, nine surgeries, and a Super Bowl LIII win, which left him unable to move from his bed the following day, it seemed as though Gronkowski was forced to retire to save his health. He stayed retired for a year, being the WWE 24/7 Champion and a broadcaster.

However, the departure of Tom Brady from the New England Patriots to the Buccaneers was too much for Gronkowski, and he could not resist going back to play alongside his quarterback. The duo played their second season in Tampa in 2020 and won the Super Bowl LV championship by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs. It is noteworthy that it was the fourth Super Bowl win for the dynamic duo.

In 2022, Gronkowski played his second season in Tampa and then officially retired from playing.

2. Eric Weddle

The story of Eric Weddle is the story that could fit a screenplay, as even Weddle could not believe in such an outcome. He retired in February 2020 after a 13-year-long career, during which he played for nine seasons with the San Diego Chargers and three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, without ever earning his Super Bowl ring. This absence was the only flaw in his career, and for two years, it seemed to be the end of everything.

However, in January 2022, the Rams' secondary had to deal with several problems, and injuries to Jordan Fuller and Taylor Rapp made Los Angeles pull a player off the couch. At the age of 37, Eric Weddle responded to the call and signed with the practice squad, just a few days before the beginning of the NFL playoffs. And after that, an amazing story took place: 19 snaps in the Wild Card round grew into 61 snaps on the Super Bowl stage, when Weddle became the Rams' leader in tackles during the NFC Championship victory over San Francisco.

The fairy tale ending arrived in Super Bowl LVI. Weddle played all 61 defensive snaps against the Bengals, tearing his pec in the process, and helped seal a 23-20 win that finally got him his ring. True to his word, he retired again that same night, joking that this time, "There will not be playing – another team, another game – no, no, no, no." Two seasons off the field, one Super Bowl run, zero regrets.

3. Marshawn Lynch

No one retires the way Marshawn Lynch does. He gave notice of the end of his career in true form, with only one tweet that remained silent about anything during Super Bowl 50, held in February 2016. Lynch walked off the field with a championship win in Super Bowl XLVIII, a famous run and an injured body after the injury-filled 2015 season.

This retirement did not last long because, when the Raiders declared their intention to move the team to Las Vegas in 2016, Marshawn Lynch simply could not allow his hometown team to move without him joining them first. He came out of retirement and the Seahawks traded him to Oakland. After two years and more than 1,200 rushing yards, Lynch retired once again in 2018, and this retirement was also not permanent.

At the end of the 2019 campaign, when Seattle had suffered through a host of injuries to their running back corps, Lynch responded to Carroll's call once again. Lynch scored a rushing touchdown in the season's final game and went on to record three more in the playoffs, ending his career with a bang in the jersey he wore at the beginning of it all.

If anything, Gronkowski, Weddle, and Lynch have taught us that being retired doesn't necessarily mean leaving for good, particularly when a legend has more to offer – and now it could be the turn of Aaron Donald to follow suit. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year retired from his stint with the Los Angeles Rams in 2024, with his body seeming to tell him he should.