If you were one of the few who believed future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald would return home to finish his illustrious career with the hometown Pittsburgh Steelers, put that thought to rest.
According to NBC Sports’ Peter King, there is “not a burning desire” for Donald to return home and finish his career with the Steelers.
“I think, for the record, Aaron Donald is not likely to play the twilight of his career for the Steelers. I hear it’s not a burning desire of his,” King wrote in his last Football Morning in America column regarding any perceived Donald/Steelers connection.
Where, exactly, the Aaron Donald/Steelers rumor came from for King to address is a bit puzzling, yet here we are.
Earlier in the summer, Fox Sports’ Jason McIntyre made a bold prediction that the Los Angeles Rams would trade Donald at the trade deadline, as did former NFL GM Michael Lombardi on the Pat McAfee Show.
That might have led to some speculation regarding a potential fit with the Steelers, though that came from nothing truly credible.
Yet King felt the need to address any sort of speculation between Donald and the Steelers, shutting it down entirely. Not that King’s words were needed.
Donald is entering what could be his final season in the NFL. According to his contract with the Rams, he can get out of his current deal with a $26 million cap hit and a $59.5 million dead cap hit after the 2023 season. Were he to opt into the final year of the deal for 2024, he would carry a 2024 Base + Option Bonus of $10 million plus another $20 million that is fully guaranteed the fifth league day of 2024. That would give him a $34.166 million cap hit in 2024 and a dead cap hit of $33.5 million.
Chances are, if Donald plays in 2024, he’s going to be a Los Angeles Ram.
If he plays in 2024, he’d also be 33 years old, and while he remains an absolutely dominant force in the middle of the Rams’ defense, he hasn’t shown much desire to play all that much longer, especially after having won a Super Bowl ring with the Rams.
For the Steelers, how exactly they would fit Donald under the cap is unclear. Really, it’s not feasible overall, especially with highly paid pieces in T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick on the roster already as part of the NFL’s highest-paid defense. This isn’t Madden.
Really, it seems like the only reason there is a perceived Donald/Steelers connection is due to Donald being a Pittsburgh native. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year grew up in Pittsburgh, attended Pitt and still returns each offseason to workout at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex where the Steelers and Panthers train.
Donald’s nephew, Elliot Donald, plays at Pitt currently, too.
This entire Donald situation seems to be much ado about nothing. It was strange that King had to acknowledge and respond to it, but it is a slow time. There you have it though, “no burning desire” for Donald to be a Steeler to end his career.
