One tremendous career ends, one less problem for the 49ers
Lost in all this free agency news on Friday was some other happenings around the NFC West, namely the Los Angeles Rams. Defensive tackle Aaron Donald announced his retirement.
Cheers to what’s next. Extending a big thank you to the Rams and all of the fans for your support over these last 10 years. Much love. pic.twitter.com/edGxkUYdLz
— AD_99 (@AaronDonald97) March 15, 2024
Donald was drafted by the Rams 13th overall in the 2014 NFL Draft and played in the league for 10 years. He’ll get to retire with the same team that drafted him, something that doesn’t happen in the NFL often. Retirement and “Will he or won’t he” discussions began as early as the Super Bowl in 2021. Donald just kept returning and playing at a high level.
Donald was such a force on the field that San Francisco 49ers gameplans were often built around him. Most of the time they relied on quick passes to get the ball out as going deep or giving him any sort of time meant someone was getting punished.
Donald’s retirement comes after the Rams restructured his contract, freeing up $9.2 million in cap space. Looking at their roster, the Rams have had a decent rotation of pieces on the defensive line. If they are looking for anything remotely close to being the next man up for Donald, however, they will probably be looking to the NFL Draft. Donald obviously is irreplaceable, but it will be interesting to see what moves the Rams make now that he’s off the roster.
There’s no denying this though: while the Rams have salary cap space, losing Donald hurts as it can be argued he’s the best player on the team. The 49ers gameplans will be a bit different now
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