Aaron Donald has detailed the crucial conversations with his wife, Erica Donald, that preceded his decision to come out of retirement and rejoin the Los Angeles Rams. Donald, who retired after the 2023 NFL season, signed a one-year, $20 million contract to return to the Rams, bolstering a defense that also features newly acquired Myles Garrett.
Donald stated that his wife's support was paramount in his return. "I think my wife played a huge part of me making this decision period because if the wife wasn't happy, it wasn't going to get done," Donald told reporters. "I got to make sure that the household was good, the kids were okay with it all."
He explained that the process involved extensive discussions to ensure his family was comfortable with him returning to the field. "My wife was on board. She said, 'If you want to do this, (I'm) with (you) 100%,' and there were days when I was like, 'I don't know.' She talked to me enough to be like, 'You want to do this. Don't make no decisions faster than what you need to make a decision. Take your time.' She played a huge part of me figuring this out because it really wasn't an easy decision. It took a lot of hard work, a lot of long conversations with a lot of different people, but I felt good enough to make the decision to come back and do this."
Donald remained in frequent contact with Rams head coach Sean McVay throughout the decision-making process, speaking with him almost daily. "I talked to Sean every single week, damn near every day. We stayed in contact. I gave him all my updates, how I was feeling, how things were going," Donald said. "I know he got annoyed with [media] asking all the questions in camp every damn day. I felt bad for him at that point, but I was doing everything I needed to do to give myself peace of mind and see if I can do it."
The star defensive lineman indicated that the decision was not made hastily. "There wasn't (any) rushing. I just wanted to take my time and make the right decision because once you choose to come back, you’re all the way back in. You can't be halfway in, you (have to) be all the way in it. I had to get to that point where I felt like I'm 100% committed to playing football again," he explained. Donald added that he considered both the physical and mental aspects of returning to the sport after a period away.
Donald retired after the 2023 season, having earned a Pro Bowl selection in each of his first 10 years with the Rams. He was a First-Team All-Pro selection in all but two of those seasons and was part of the Rams team that won Super Bowl LVI in 2021. In his 154 career games, Donald has recorded 111 sacks and 543 tackles.