INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 13: Aaron Donald #99 and Greg Gaines #91of the Los Angeles Rams react during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVI against the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
The defending Super Bowl champions have secured the services of arguably the NFL’s top defensive player. Aaron Donald got a raise from the Los Angeles Rams.
His NFL resume is daunting. And now apparently so is his salary. And so much for that retirement talk.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald just got his contract reworked. And the results were quite beneficial to the eight-year pro.
It’s been quite the start of a career for the former University of Pittsburgh star. And it’s almost hard to believe now that he was the Rams’ second first-round draft choice in 2014 (do you recall Auburn tackle Greg Robinson at No. 2?).
The 13th overall selection that year has missed just two games in eight NFL campaigns. He’s racked up an impressive 98 sacks in 127 regular-season outings. Add in 23 forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries. Donald has record double-digit sacks in six seasons and no fewer than eight QB traps in any year.
The 6’1”, 280-pound interior presence has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of his eight seasons in the league. He’s been accorded All-Pro honors each of the last seven years. And he was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, 2018 and 2020. And talk about impressive? He’s been in the Top 5 of voting for that honor seven straight years.
Donald was part of the Rams’ Super Bowl LIII team that lost to the Patriots. And of course, he was a big contributor in the club’s 2021 NFL title run. He finished with 3.5 sacks in four postseason games, two of those QB traps at the expense of Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow in Super Bowl LVI.
The Los Angeles Rams are attempting to become the first team since the 2003 and ’04 New England Patriots to repeat as Super Bowl champions. They begin their quest on Thursday night, September 8, when they host the Buffalo Bills in prime time. Will Donald spend as much time chasing Josh Allen as he did Joe Burrow in February?
