Sean McVay: Conversations About Aaron Donald's Future Will Come at 'Appropriate Time'
Now that the Los Angeles Rams' season is over, it is time to start worrying about the future of a lot of veterans on the team.
Perhaps the most pressing matter is talking to superstar defensive tackle Aaron Donald about whether this past season was his last. After all, the future Hall of Famer will be 33 years old in May, so retirement questions are not outside of the realm of possibility.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
"I think those conversations occur at the appropriate time," McVay said. "There's so much emotion that takes place right after a game and after a season."
The Rams took Donald with the 13th pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, and since then, he has become one of the best defensive players in league history. He has made the Pro Bowl every single one of his seasons, and he has won Defensive Player of the Year a whopping three times.
If Donald retired right now, he would be mentioned with the likes of Lawrence Taylor, who is arguably the best defensive player to ever play the game. But his future with the team is not set in stone, as Donald has not made any recent announcement regarding his retirement from football.
Head coach Sean McVay wants to wait a little longer to talk to his star defensive tackle about his future with the team, as he wants the emotions from the loss against the Detroit Lions to subside before Donald makes a big decision like this.
McVay compared the situation to that of Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce at his end-of-season press conference.
"Even I was reading earlier, you see [Eagles center] Jason Kelce, there's all these assumptions and things like that," McVay said. "I think you give guys the chance to really just digest the season, coaches and players alike, and then we'll address all those things at the right time."
