Donald: “If we bring everybody back, I’m back.”
Pitt great Aaron Donald was said to be considering retirement prior to the Los Angeles Rams’ 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. The decision was contingent on the Rams winning the game, as that was the only major achievement that had eluded Donald in his NFL career up to that point. But things are trending in a new direction.
During the Rams’ victory celebration in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Rams head coach Sean McVay started a “run it back” chant as Donald was at a podium speaking to the Rams fans gathered outside Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at the Olympic Plaza. That prompted an optimistic response from Donald.
Aaron Donald: “Why not run it back?”
pic.twitter.com/sfQ5TRx8Mn— PFF (@PFF) February 16, 2022
“We built the super team,” Donald said. “We could bring the super team back. Why not run it back? We could be world champions again.”
With that said, Donald was also egged on by McVay and said during his speech that he had been “drinking a little bit,” so the enthusiastic talk about running it back could have just been a result of the celebration. But since then, there has been more definitive talk of a comeback, suggesting Donald’s return is imminent.
“If we bring everybody back, I’m back,” Donald told TMZ. “Odell Beckham, Von Miller, we bring those guys back, then let’s make it happen.”
Much like Donald’s consideration of retirement was contingent on the Rams winning the Super Bowl, it now seems his return is contingent on bringing back the team that won the game. So the onus is now on Rams general manager Les Snead to re-sign Beckham and Miller, both of whom were on one-year deals worth under $1.5 million during the 2021 season and will become unrestricted free agents in 2022.
At the moment, it appears possible Beckham and Miller could return in 2022. Beckham told Donald he would be back during the victory celebration on Wednesday, and Miller told TMZ he and Donald would both return. Of course, that leaves the work of hammering out the details of two contracts left undone for the time being, but it seems that Donald is currently leaning toward returning in 2022.