Aaron Donald's trainer not surprised by retirement rumors: 'He might as well go out on top'

When NBC announcer Rodney Harrison discussed the “strong possibility” that Aaron Donald could retire if the Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl LVI, DeWayne Brown wasn’t the least bit surprised.

Through his 2/10ths Speed and Agility program, Brown has trained Donald since he played at Penn Hills and watched his workout intensity increase going into a senior season at Pitt where Donald swept every defensive award and developed into an NFL first-round draft pick.

Ten days before the Super Bowl, Brown suggested that the seven-time All-Pro and three-time NFL defensive player of the year could choose to ride off into the sunset if he won the Lombardi Trophy.

Donald turned in a dominant performance in the Rams’ 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium in L.A., registering four tackles, two sacks and three quarterback hurries, including one that forced quarterback Joe Burrow to throw incomplete on a fourth-and-1 with 39 seconds left.

“He’s been going so hard on a nine-year run, from his senior year of college until now, that’s probably taken a lot out of him mentally because he’s non-stop with how he works,” Brown said. “If he’s going to go out, he might as well go out on top.”

THAT’S WORLD CHAMPION AARON DONALD TO YOU pic.twitter.com/L7oZtgRMOV

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) February 14, 2022

Brown believes Donald, a 6-foot, 285-pound defensive tackle, can continue to be as disruptive as ever — if he chooses to keep playing — by relying purely on his speed, strength and understanding of the game.

4th of July Workout @AaronDonald97. Time to turn it up @RamsNFL. @NFL @prospectmedia_. @_Drew_55. #2Tenths #2TenthstheBluePrint #hardworkpaysoff pic.twitter.com/EdoCH6F3q6

— 2 עשיריות (@210ths) July 4, 2021

The question is whether Donald has the desire to continue an offseason training regimen that borders on the maniacal. Brown said Donald’s one-hour workouts involve a dynamic warmup followed by linear, lateral, core and explosion drills, with little rest in-between repetitions.

“He can do the physical part beacuse he’s got the muscle memory,” Brown said. “It’s more the mental part. Does he feel it with his body? Can he play at that level another year?

“His level of conditioning is so crazy. The pace we’re going works on your conditioning, and his capacity to work is higher than anybody else. That’s all up to him, how his body is feeling. He knows he can do it physically. Even if Aaron didn’t go as hard as he does with me in the offseason, he’s still going to be great on the field. But that’s not enough for him.”

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Brown said Donald typically starts his offseason routine in the final week of February, so he should know by early March whether Donald will continue playing based on if he asks about resuming the training. Brown plans to begin his speed and agility training program for a group of NFL players and draft prospects in the next few weeks, along with college and high school players.

Seeing Donald win the Super Bowl was proof to Brown that the work they have done together over the past decade was successful, and validated his belief that he can help players achieve their career goals.

“I just give him the platform so he can stay on top of his game,” Brown said. “I’m just blessed to be around an athlete like that. All of the stuff that’s happened for him, I couldn’t have predicted it. He made me work harder. He pushes me as hard as I push him. … All of this, he deserves. Every. Single. Bit.

“I just know that this all a byproduct of the work that he put in. This is what’s supposed to happen. You put in the work and you get what you deserve. This is what was meant to be. Everything he got, he deserves because he’s making plays. This is the dream.”