Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald says he’s not retiring.
Donald caused a stir by changing his Twitter bio to say that he’s a “former” NFL defensive lineman, then he changed it back to “NFL D Lineman for the Rams.” On Twitter Wednesday, Donald indicated that he will continue to play.
Responding to a tweet that played a podcast clip of Donald’s former teammate Chris Long saying that Donald will play this season, Donald indicated that Long is correct.
“Tell em C Lo [Chris Long] yeah I’m playn never said I wasn’t,” Donald wrote.
But while it’s true Donald never said he wasn’t playing, changing his Twitter bio to call himself a “former” NFL defensive lineman certainly hinted that he was done playing. And there’s a long history of players using their social media accounts to give vague hints that they’re considering retiring, or asking for a trade, or a new contract.
And in the same podcast clip Donald was agreeing with, Long said that Donald probably wouldn’t want to be part of a rebuild and might prefer the Rams to trade him to a team that is better positioned to contend in 2023. Long even named the Steelers and Eagles as two teams that Donald, a Pittsburgh native, would want to play for.
So while Donald says he’s playing, he hasn’t said he’s playing for the Rams. Which means his status remains worth watching.