Aaron Donald’s return to the Los Angeles Rams is official.
After retiring over two years ago, Donald, 35, couldn’t stay away from the game he loves. Now, the question becomes whether Donald is able to play at the same level he was at when he won three Defensive Player of the Year awards.
So, as Donald makes his return to football, let’s take a look at which other athletes had successful returns after stepping away from the game for at least a year.
Rob Gronkowski
Rob Gronkowski had 1,425 yards and 13 touchdowns in two seasons with the Buccaneers after coming out of retirement. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Gronkowski retired after the 2018 season with the New England Patriots. He initially went out on a high note, helping the Patriots to beat the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII, his third ring with the team. He was out of the league for one full season before returning to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when his longtime teammate, quarterback Tom Brady, joined them in free agency. Brady and Gronkowski combined to win another Super Bowl before Gronkowski’s career ended following the 2022 season. Gronkowski had 13 touchdown receptions over those two seasons
Marshawn Lynch
Marshawn Lynch rushed for a total of 1,267 yards and 10 touchdowns in two years with the Oakland Raiders after coming out of retirement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Lynch initially retired after the 2015 season, his seventh with the Seattle Seahawks, and his 11th NFL season. At that point, his final game was the Seahawks’ 28-24 loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX. He had won a Super Bowl ring with Seattle the year before that. Lynch also led the NFC in rushing touchdowns in 2013 and 2014.
Lynch returned after one season out of the NFL, playing with his hometown Oakland Raiders for two seasons, before officially finishing his career with the Seahawks in 2019. He rushed for 891 yards in his first year back.
Jason Witten
Jason Witten played 32 games with the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders after coming out of retirement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Witten retired after the 2017 NFL season, his 15th with the Dallas Cowboys. He joined ESPN to call games for one season before returning to Dallas in 2019. He had 63 receptions for 529 yards and four touchdowns that year before joining the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020. He finished his career second to Tony Gonzalez among tight ends in all-time receiving yards with 13,046.
Deion Sanders helped the Dallas Cowboys to their last Super Bowl victory in 1996. (Photo credit should read VINCE BUCCI/AFP via Getty Images)
Sanders initially retired after the 2000 season, his 12th in the NFL, but only his first with Washington. After a three-year hiatus, he did not return to play for Washington’s franchise. Instead, he joined the Baltimore Ravens for two seasons. He had five interceptions over two seasons with the Ravens before retiring for good in 2006.
Randall Cunningham helped the Minnesota Vikings to a 15-1 record two seasons after coming out of retirment. (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)
Cunningham retired after the 1995 NFL season following a release by the Philadelphia Eagles, where he spent his first 12 NFL seasons. But one year later, then-Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green convinced him to return, and he spent three seasons with the Vikings. He earned a Pro Bowl nod in 1998 when he threw for 3,704 yards and 34 touchdowns. Cunningham appeared in 12 games for the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens over the next two seasons before finishing his career in 2001.
Ricky Williams returned to the NFL for six seasons following his initial retirment. (Photo by Robert B. Stanton/NFLPhotoLibrary)
Williams initially retired after his fifth NFL season, and second with the Miami Dolphins. He was only one year removed from rushing for an AFC-best 1,854 yards and 16 touchdowns, and had just led the conference with 392 carries in 2003. He returned to the Dolphins in 2005 and played five more seasons for the franchise, rushing for 1,121 yards in 2009. However, Williams was suspended for the 2006 season after violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Williams finished his career with the Baltimore Ravens in 2011.
Of any of these players, Michael Jordan won the most championships after returning from retirement, with three. (Photo by Bongarts/Getty Images)
Switching gears to the NBA, six-time champion Michael Jordan retired from the league after his first three-peat with the Chicago Bulls. Among the driving forces for the decision, Jordan’s father had passed away in the summer of 1993. Jordan pursued a professional baseball career, but ultimately returned to the Bulls for the 1994-95 NBA season. He led the franchise to another three-peat. He then retired again after the 1998 season, but returned to play for the Washington Wizards from 2001-03. On top of being a six-time champion, Jordan is a Hall of Famer and sits sixth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Andy Pettitte started 42 games over two seasons for the Yankees after coming out of retirement. (Photo by Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/Getty Images)
Pettitte initially retired after the 2010 MLB season. By that point, he had played 13 seasons with the New York Yankees, interrupted by a three-year stint with the Houston Astros. Pettitte returned in 2012 for two more years with the Yankees. Pettitte helped the Yankees win five World Series rings, including the franchise’s most recent championship in 2009 and posted a 3.49 ERA over his final two seasons.
Mario Lemieux continued to play at a high level after he unretired in 2000. (Credit: Jamie Squire/ALLSPORT)
Lemieux first retired in 1997 and left the NHL as the greatest points-per-game player in league history. When he returned and re-joined the Pittsburgh Penguins three years later, Lemieux continued to play at that same level. Lemieux played five seasons after his first retirement and led the NHL in points per game during that stretch. That included a 76-point season in his first year back, in which he only played 43 games.
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