DT Aaron Donald on retirement after 10 seasons in NFL: 'I'm burnt out'
Aaron Donald ate his fill of quarterbacks in a decade of mauling opposing offenses.
The shoo-in future Hall of Famer broke his silence on retirement, teasing an upcoming video in a clip shared on social media.
“I’m complete, I’m full. I think the passion to play the game is no longer there for me,” he said. “I will always love football, but to think about going through another camp and another 17 [game] season, I just don’t got the urge to want to push myself to do that no more. I’m just, I’m burnt out, if anything, the best way to say it is that I’m full, I’m complete. I’m satisfied with what I was able to do in 10 years, and I think it’s time for me to, at 32 years old, retire from football and jump into the next step in my career, my life, and now it’s time to move on.”
The “I’m full” comment is one Donald used to convey his retirement to Rams coach Sean McVay in January.
No one can blame the maniacal competitor for feeling ground down by the physical nature of football. When you’re the center of attention like he’s been for a decade, having to battle two and sometimes three 300-pound blockers for 50-plus snaps a game for 17 games must be exhausting. Not to mention the effort it takes to look like a chiseled Greek god.
Donald’s list of accomplishments leaves him little else to prove in his career.
“Ten years, 10 Pro Bowls, eight All-Pros, three Defensive Player of the Years, Rookie of the Year, two NFC Championships, three NFC West championships, went to two Super Bowls, won one, lost one,” he noted.
In five years, Donald will be able to add “Hall of Fame inductee” to that list.
