Rams star Donald announces retirement

Aaron Donald spent 10 years flattening quarterbacks, crushing ball-carriers, fighting through perpetual double-teams and generally wrecking NFL offenses. He was relentless, reliable and infinitely resourceful while he led the Rams all the way to a Super Bowl championship.

And on Friday, Donald decided a decade of dominance was enough.

The most accomplished defensive lineman of his generation has retired after a stellar 10-year career.

The three-time AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year made his somewhat surprising announcement on social media. He doesn’t plan to have a retirement news conference or any public farewell, but his impact on the Rams and the NFL is already indelible. The 32-year-old Donald spent his entire career with the Rams, who drafted him in the first round in 2014 out of Pitt. The Pittsburgh native was selected for 10 Pro Bowls and eight All-Pro first teams, and he won the award as the league’s top defensive player in 2017, 2018 and 2020.

“Throughout my career, I have given my everything to football both mentally and physically — 365 days a year was dedicated to becoming the best possible player I could be,” Donald said in a statement. “I respected this game like no other, and I’m blessed to be able to conclude my NFL career with the same franchise that drafted me. Not many people get drafted to a team, win a world championship with that team and retire with that team. I do not, and will not, take that for granted.”

PICKETT DEALT TO EAGLES >> The brief and tumultuous Kenny Pickett era in Pittsburgh is over.

The Steelers are trading the quarterback to the Eagles, multiple sources told The Associated Press. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was not official.

Pittsburgh will receive a third-round pick in this year’s NFL draft and two seventh-round choices in the 2025 draft in exchange for Pickett and Pittsburgh’s fourth-round pick this year.

The trade comes just hours after the Steelers signed ninetime Pro Bowler Russell Wilson to a one-year deal to compete with Pickett for the starting job, though all signs appeared to be pointing to Wilson having the edge when the team reported for training camp at Saint Vincent College in July.

Golf SCHEFFLER FIRES 65 AT PLAYERS >>

Scottie Scheffler had his 25th consecutive round under par in The Players Championship, and this was hard work. He felt pain in his neck that required treatment on the course, and he struggled to swing and to stay within range of Wyndham Clark.

Clark was playing in the group behind, oblivious to Scheffler’s injury or anything else. He ran off four straight birdies on the front nine and finished with a 7-under 65, one shot short of the 36hole record at the TPC Sawgrass. He had a five-shot lead as Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele set out in a hot, breezy afternoon to try to catch him.