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Aaron Donald's 10 greatest moments with Rams

Aaron Donald has officially retired from the NFL.

As part of the celebration of his storied 10 NFL seasons, theRams.com highlights his 10 greatest moments in the horns.

10) 2014: Defensive Rookie of the Year

Registering 47 total tackles and nine sacks in his first season, Donald earned the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year despite not becoming a starter until five weeks into the season.

9) 2015: First AP First Team All-Pro recognition

One of what would be seven-consecutive for Donald in another marker of his greatness.

Swipe through the best photos of Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald's full career.

8) June 2022: Becoming NFL's highest-paid non quarterback

Inking another extension with the Rams, the lucrative deal made Donald the league's highest-paid non-quarterback.

The signing itself was special, too, as Donald flew in from Pittsburgh (his hometown and offseason home) to put pen to paper at SoFi Stadium – nearly four months after helping the Rams hoist the Lombardi Trophy there – with his family by his side.

7) 2017 & 2018: Back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year Awards

Donald's dominance had been routinely recognized in each of his first three seasons with three Pro Bowl nods and two First-Team All-Pro selections, but the 2017 season marked the first of three times he would go on to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

The only other players in league history to win that award three times? Linebacker Lawrence Taylor and defensive end J.J. Watt.

6) No. 1 on NFL Top 100

After the 2018 season, peers recognized Donald's dominance by voting him No. 1 on the NFL Top 100 players of 2019.

5) Four sacks at 49ers in 2018

A blowout win over rival San Francisco included a career-high four sacks from Donald, giving him his ninth multi-sack game of his career at the time. He finished with 20 regular season games with 2 or more sacks in his career, out of 154 career regular season games played.

4) Three sacks vs. Cardinals in 2021

One of the biggest reasons why the Rams' pass rush found its groove on its way to a Super Bowl-winning playoff run was the play of Donald in December, highlighted by his three sacks against the Cardinals in Week 14. It was a bookend performance for Donald, who got two of those sacks by taking down Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray on the first and last plays of the game.

2024-aaron-donald-page-16x9-promo

Legends Live Forever

Celebrate Aaron Donald's decade of dominance.

3) Clinching NFL DT and franchise single-season sack record

Donald's third and final sack against Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen in Week 16 of the 2018 season put him at the top of the Rams' list for career sacks and also broke the single-season record for his position of 18 previously held by the Vikings' Keith Millard since 1989.

2) Game-clinching pressure in NFC Championship

Four words: "I want my ring."

1) Game-clinching pressure in Super Bowl LVI

The Bengals' last gasp was a 4th and short, needing to convert to keep a possible game-winning drive alive. And who else but Donald to pressure Cincinnati's Joe Burrow?

At last, Donald gets his ring.

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