LA Rams free agency tracker: Signings, trades & live updates: Updated 4/22 11:00 am

Aaron Donald's retirement

March 15, 2024, will be a date that will be burned into the minds and record books of LA Rams fans for a very long time. It was on this date that The Great One, All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald announced to the world that he was hanging up his football cleats and stepping away from the game of professional football.

Just 24 hours later, many are still in shock, or denial, or angry, of any number of emotions that stand in the way of acceptance. But unless some miraculous change of heart takes place, I would not put any trust in his return. This is not some form of posturing to get paid. This it it.

Still, he is a legend. The Rams cannot replace him. But this team must make the best of the situation. How? We already have a set of options that this team can take right here, right now. I expect that the Rams will need to attempt several courses of action to fill the void.

While replacing Donald is an impossible mission, the team cannot curl into a fetal position and hope that tomorrow will make it all go away. The LA Rams front office can only alter that which is in their control. Eventually the 2024 NFL Draft will arrive, the dust will settle, and rookies and second-year players will be relied upon to find ways to make this defense just as dangerous.

But Aaron Donald's retirement was not the only exodus from the team: