Rams GM: We might call Donald for playoff run
The Rams are getting ready for the post-Aaron Donald era. Still, Los Angeles general manager Les Snead said the team might consider contacting the retired defender for a potential playoff run in the 2024 season.
"I did mention to Aaron that - going back to our Super Bowl run - that there was a player by the name of Eric Weddle, who kind of jumped into the playoffs, and we signed him to the practice squad," Snead said in a recent appearance on the "Rich Eisen Show." "And we standard elevated him for four straight games to a Super Bowl championship. So, I did mention if we happen to get to the playoffs again, maybe we'll circle back and see if the cup's not quite filled. ... But I doubt Aaron's going to do that."
The Rams brought Weddle - a six-time Pro Bowler - out of retirement in January 2022 to play that postseason for the team. Weddle, who was 37 years old at the time, appeared in all four games (two starts) during the playoffs that year and played every defensive snap in Super Bowl LVI to help L.A. lift the Lombardi Trophy.
A three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Donald announced retirement in March after earning 10 Pro Bowl berths and winning one Super Bowl across 10 seasons with the Rams. The 32-year-old later explained his decision by saying he was "complete."
"He was having a blast in his final season. As we started slowly, caught some momentum in the second half of the season, he was having fun," Snead said of Donald. " ... Now, all football players think about that moment: 'Now it's time to take a little time away and figure out OK, is it time to say goodbye.'"
Arguably the most dominant interior lineman in NFL history, Donald appeared in 154 games and helped the Rams reach two Super Bowls after being drafted 13th overall in 2014.
"Aaron's one of those guys where he's so principled, he might feel uncomfortable that, 'You know what, I didn't go through those other 18 (games) with the guys, I'm not sure I can go through the playoffs with them.'" Snead added. "Not sure. We might tempt him. No breaking news here."
In their first draft after Donald's retirement, the Rams selected five defensive players with their first six picks. The team's haul includes first-round edge rusher Jared Verse and defensive lineman Braden Fiske, whom L.A. took after trading up in the second round.
Los Angeles has made the playoffs in three of the last four seasons.