Rams gives Aaron Donald his flowers

Woodland Hills, CA (News 4 Us Online) – The accolades for Aaron Donald are plenty. Super Bowl champion. All-Pro. Pro Bowler. Defensive Player of the Year three times over. The honors don’t stop there. They go on and on.

In a decade of playing in the NFL, Donald became the ultimate disruptor. Donald was the most feared player in the league, perhaps the best to ever play the position of defensive tackle. 

Now that he has stepped into retirement (2024) after 10 years of chasing down quarterbacks and causing bedlam for every opponent he went up against, Donald has become a revered figure from a franchise that breeds excellence. 

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford can connect with the greatness that Donald brought. It was Donald who helped secure Stafford’s first and the franchise’s second Super Bowl win when he took down Cincinnati Bengals signal-caller Joe Burrow with a sack to wrap up victory for LA in Super Bowl LVI. 

“Oh man. Obviously on the football field, he was as dominant as you could be whether that was practice or in games,” Stafford said. “He forced the hand of the offense more than any player I’ve ever played against or with which was incredible to be around.”

When the Rams go up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a Sunday Night Football matchup, Donald will get his flowers as the team as well as fans celebrate the future Hall of Famer. 

“Aaron Donald is one of the greatest Rams of all time and we can’t wait to come together with our fans to thank him for everything he’s done for our organization, our city and our game,” said Los Angeles Rams General Manager Les Snead in a released statement over the summer. “It will be an honor to recognize Aaron on the very field where he sealed our Super Bowl win.”

A bobblehead with Donald’s likeness will be passed out to fans. Donald will also be honored during a halftime ceremony. 

“It’s pretty cool,” Donald said during a visit to the team’s practice facility on Wednesday. “Just to be honored, obviously being an old guy, retired now, but still reaping the benefits of what I did when I played, it’s pretty special. A special week last week and then fast forward to this week, another one with my Rams. It’s pretty cool. I’m excited about it.”

Since his retirement, Donald is still a strong fixture within the Rams organization. He has held the Aaron Donald Elite Camp at the Rams practice facility in Woodland Hills. Donald is also the planned host for An Evening With Aaron Donald, sponsored by his Aaron Donald 99 Foundation, which kicks off the organization’s inaugural fundraising event at SoFi Stadium.   

Outside of his philanthropic endeavors with the Rams, Donald stays connected with the players as well, especially the men that are currently in that occupational seat of havoc creator like Jared Verse and Kobie Turner. 

“I try to reach out to Verse here and there. Kobie Turner too,” said Donald. “He’s my guy that played with me. I tell him, ‘If you’re watching film and I’m free and I can watch film with you, I’m down to watch. I can just be in the back of the room and if you have a question to ask or I see something that I can help you with I’m down to do it.’” 

For Donald, it’s important that he shows support for the players that are now playing with the team. 

“Anything I can do to try to help them, any words I can give them, they know that I’m here,” Donald said. “I text some guys sometimes here and there and if they want to come over to the house to get a workout, they can come. If they want to come watch some film with me, I’m down with that too if I’m free and able to do it.”

Donald has become a big fan of Verse, Turner and the rest of the Rams defensive front line (Poona Ford, Byron Young, and Braden Fiske) as they get up in the grill of opposing quarterbacks and cause disruption in the backfields of their opponents. 

“It’s been fun to watch,” Donald said. “As a fan now, I’m watching on the couch. It’s not just the sack numbers, it’s the pressure they’re putting on the quarterback, making them uncomfortable, getting quarterbacks off their spot, not allowing quarterbacks to step into their throws at times. I think that’s the way you want to impact the game as a pass rusher.” 

Cover photo: Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald (99). Photo credit: Mark Hammond/News4usonline