It’s the first season in over a decade that Aaron Donald won’t be on the field in Week 1 of a football season, whether it’s high school, college or the NFL.

His former NFL team, the Los Angeles Rams, kicked off the 2024-25 season against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit, and Donald wasn’t there. He was home, sleeping on the couch with his wife, Erica. And while the Rams could have used Donald on the field, it appears he’s happy at home.

Erica took a video of Donald seemingly sleeping while Sunday Night Football was playing and asked if Donald was coming back this season.

“Aaron, people are still asking if you’re coming back. Okay, guys, I hope this answers your question, because it’s not.”

Looks like Aaron Donald is retiring on Sunday on a high note 🤣😴

(via ericadonald99/IG) photo.twitter.com/cBiw0nZOBD

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 9, 2024

Donald announced his retirement from the NFL in March 15 and capped off one of the greatest careers in NFL history — a first-ballot Hall of Fame legacy and a legitimate claim as the greatest defensive football player of all time.

Donald was a 2014 first-round draft pick out of Pitt after a distinguished career in Pittsburgh, where he racked up 181 tackles (115 solo), 66 tackles for loss, 29.5 sacks, forced six fumbles and defended 10 passes during his time as a Panther, and of course his star time at Penn Hills in the late 2000s.

Donald had a senior season for the ages, recording 59 tackles (43 solo), 28.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, four forced fumbles and three passes defensed, capping off one of the finest defensive efforts in Pitt history — and college football history.

In 10 seasons in the NFL, he collected 543 tackles (340 of them solo), 176 tackles for loss, 111 sacks, 24 forced fumbles and seven recoveries and 21 pass breakups – establishing himself as one of the greats in just 10 seasons.

Aaron Donald will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, already considered one of the best defensive players of all time, but it appears his playing career is over. He may be young, just 33 years old and fresh off a first-team All-Pro season, but his time as an NFL player is — by all accounts — over.

Of course, he continues to train at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex and hosts his annual “Living in the Pocket” skills camp, but that seems to be all he can do on the field.

Donald will certainly be active in the Pittsburgh region in the coming years.