© Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Steelers Almost Had Aaron Donald
The Pittsburgh Steelers nearly ended up with their hometown hero.
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers almost brought one of the greatest defensive players the NFL has ever seen back to his hometown, getting a chance to play for the black and gold and the team he grew up watching.
Aaron Donald officially retired from the game of football this offseason, spending his entire career with the Los Angeles Rams. But it nearly turned out differently. Speaking with Chris Long on the Green Light Podcast, Donald said he almost decided early on in his career to come back to Pittsburgh, joining the Steelers.
"Probably my third year in the league, we wasn’t a good team and we started talking about contract stuff," Donald said. "And I didn’t know if I was going to stay with the Rams. Because I wanted to win, be with a winning team, so I flirted with the idea a little bit, and maybe I could go home and play for the Steelers."
Donald didn't and went on to win three Defensive Player of the Year awards and be named a ten-time Pro Bowler. If he ended up in Pittsburgh, he would've joined a defense of T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward, and eventually added Minkah Fitzpatrick to the group.
The Penn Hills star went to the University of Pittsburgh and even after retirement, there will likely be the thought of "will Donald return and play for the Steelers?" for years to come. While we'll all have to wait and see the answer to that question, it's interesting to know he almost ended up back in Pittsburgh with plenty of time left in the league.
