Before the championship-or-bust Los Angeles Rams celebrated a Super Bowl win over the Cincinnati Bengals in SoFi Stadium on Sunday, retirement rumors involving superstar defensive tackle Aaron Donald were swirling. During NBC's pregame show, analyst Rodney Harrison discussed the possibility, mentioning how Donald is "big on legacy," and open to walking away from the NFL on top.
Donald sidestepped rumors following the Super Bowl, telling reporters that he wasn't focused on anything other than the present moment. If he chooses to retire, he'd walk away as one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history. In nine seasons, the 30-year-old has won three DPOY awards -- which is tied for the most ever -- been named a first-team All-Pro seven times, and racked up 98 career sacks. Question is, where does he rank among the legends?
"If you look at Aaron Donald's resume, three Defensive Player of the Year awards -- no one's done it four times," Sheil Kapadia of The Athletic told the Maggie and Perloff show on Monday. "I thought he had a chance to get No. 4 this year, and then he'd have more DPOY awards than any player in history. So, if you just look at this era he's played in, in the last nine years, every year, you could point to him and say this guy is arguably the best player in the NFL.
"Certainly the best non-quarterback in the NFL, certainly the best defensive player in the NFL. I think that's true. Now, I looked at it, going into this game, thinking he's going to play at least three, four, five more years. And I thought he was really going to build on that resume because he easily could add two more DPOY awards to that resume. But I do think that, even if he retired right now, he belongs in that conversation."
When Los Angeles won the NFC championship two weeks ago, it was Donald who broke through the trenches and forced San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo into committing a title-clinching interception late during the fourth quarter. On Sunday, Donald made two clutch plays on the Bengals' final two snaps. With 48 seconds left, leading by three points, Donald wrapped up Cincinnati running back Samaje Perine one yard short of a huge first down on 3rd-and-1 at midfield.
One play later, Donald beat the Bengals' pass protection and spun a beat-up Joe Burrow inside the pocket, forcing an incomplete pass. As a result of the pressure, the Rams took over on offense and drained the clock until blue and gold confetti rained down upon the SoFi Stadium turf. Overall, Donald finished Super Bowl 56 with two sacks, two tackles for loss, and three QB hits.
The entire Super Bowl conversation between Kapadia and Maggie and Perloff can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Maggie and Perloff Show on Twitter @MaggieandPerl and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.