EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsDefensive lineman Aaron Donald has followed through on his interest in returning to the NFL, agreeing to a one-year, $20 million deal with the Los Angeles Rams after two years in retirement. The decision thrust Donald, 35, into a select group of NFL players who interrupted retirement to get back on the field.How have others fared in similar situations? The list is relatively small, especially when you eliminate those whose "retirements" lasted less than one offseason. (Ahem, Brett Favre in 2008 and Tom Brady in 2022.) We also didn't consider players such as Michael Vick or Plaxico Burress, who returned to the field after time in jail.Here are nine of the most notable efforts to return from retirement, ranked more or less in order of their success:1. Randall Cunningham, QBCunningham had the best season of his career after retiring (for the first time). His career appeared over in 1995 when, at age 32, he received almost no interest on the free agent market. So Cunningham retired, moved home to Las Vegas and operated a granite and marble shop. But Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green convinced him to resume his career as a backup in 1997.When starter Brad Johnson was injured in 1998, Cunningham took over and led the team to an overall record of 15-1 (13-1 in Cunningham's starts) with an MVP-caliber season, throwing for 3,704 yards and 34 touchdowns. He earned a contract extension worth up to $28 million but was benched after six starts in 1999. He finished his career as a backup for the Ravens in 2001.2. Deion Sanders, CBSanders fashioned an improbable second career as a part-time defensive back with the Baltimore Ravens after three full seasons away from the game. He initially called it quits following the 2000 season; he was so eager to get away that he forfeited part of an $8 million signing bonus he had received from Washington. In 2004, he signed with the Ravens and took No. 37 to match his age.In 25 games, including six starts, he intercepted five passes -- returning one for a touchdown -- and defended a total of 10 passes. But the Ravens missed the playoffs in both seasons and he retired for good in 2006.3. Ricky Williams, RBWilliams played longer after his first retirement than he did before it, but he never replicated his early-career production. After rushing for a combined 4,470 yards from 2001 to 2003 for the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins, he retired rather than endure a 2004 drug suspension.At age 27, Williams moved to India to study yoga and holistic medicine. He returned to Miami for 12 games in 2005, rushing for 743 yards and six touchdowns but was suspended and moved to the CFL in 2006. A torn pectoral muscle limited him to one game for the Dolphins in 2007. Incredibly, he went on to play four 16-game seasons between 2008 and 2011. He managed only one 1,000-yard season among them before retiring permanently at age 34 after playing for the Ravens in 2011.4. Bronko Nagurski, RB/DTSimply put, Nagurski was one of the baddest men ever to play pro football. In 1943, at age 35 and after five years away from a game that battered his body, Nagurski came out of retirement to help the Chicago Bears during World War II. Although he was best known as a running back, Nagurski was 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds and also played defensive tackle during an era of two-way players.Bears owner George Halas needed his help on defense more than anything, but he sneaked Nagurski onto the field for offense a few times, too. Nagurski played in eight games, rushing for 84 yards, and he had a touchdown in the NFL championship game. The Bears won the title with a 41-21 victory over Washington.5. Rob Gronkowski, TEToward the end of the 2018 season, Gronkowski spoke about the physical toll the game had taken on his body and said: "Try to imagine getting hit all the time and trying to be where you want to be every day in life. It's tough." But the Patriots, and the entire NFL world, were still surprised when he decided to retire in March 2019 at the age of 29.He sat out the 2019 season, but Brady recruited him back to the field after the quarterback's own brief retirement from the Patriots before they both joined the Buccaneers. Gronkowski helped the team win Super Bowl LV, catching two touchdowns to put Tampa Bay ahead 14-3 in the second quarter. He went on to play one more season before retiring for good at 33. In 28 regular-season games over two seasons with the Buccaneers, he caught 100 passes for 1,425 yards and 13 touchdowns.6. Eric WeddleWeddle had been retired for two years when the Los Angeles Rams fell into crisis. With the 2021 playoffs looming, they lost starting safety Jordan Fuller to an ankle injury. Another safety, Taylor Rapp, was in the concussion protocol. Weddle had last played in 2019, and the Rams convinced him to return for their playoff run. He wound up playing in all four of their postseason games, starting two, and produced a legendary story. Weddle tore a pectoral muscle in the first half of Super Bowl LVI but continued playing en route to a five-tackle performance, as the Rams beat the Bengals 23-20. It was the one and only Super Bowl appearance of his 14-season career.7. Marshawn Lynch, RBLynch retired three times before it stuck. His first attempt came in February 2016, when he famously tweeted an image of his cleats hanging from a power line. At age 29, relatively ancient for most running backs, Lynch had missed nine games for the Seattle Seahawks in 2015 and by all appearances seemed ready to move on from the field. As it turned out, however, Lynch had one more goal to reach: playing for his hometown team in Oakland.After making his desires known in April 2017, Lynch convinced the Seahawks to trade his rights to the Raiders. In 21 games over the 2017-18 seasons, Lynch rushed for 1,267 yards and 10 touchdowns. He retired for a second time after that season, only to unretire again in December 2019 to rejoin an injury-ravaged Seahawks team. He played in one regular-season game, and two in the playoffs, collecting four touchdowns on 30 carries.8. Philip Rivers, QBWe include Rivers without a hint of recency bias. His story remains incredible. Rivers played 17 seasons for the Chargers, starting 240 games over that period, before retiring in 2020 at age 39. He moved into coaching at the high school level, and that's what he was doing when the Indianapolis Colts hit a crisis last season after losing quarterback Daniel Jones to a torn Achilles.With his team clinging to playoff hopes at 8-5, coach Shane Steichen convinced Rivers -- then 44 -- to help rescue the Colts' season. Rivers quite literally came out firing, jumping immediately into the starting lineup and getting rid of the ball at an average of 2.39 seconds per pass -- the second-fastest rate in a season for his career. He more than held his own in three starts, throwing for 544 yards and four touchdowns, but his time ended after the Colts were eliminated from playoff contention.Along the way, Rivers had gone 1,800 days between starts, the third most for a quarterback who did not play in between since at least 1950. He was also the fifth quarterback in NFL history to start a game at age 44 or older. (Another shows up later on this list!)9. Jason WittenWitten retired late in the 2018 offseason, at the age of 35, after ESPN offered him the analyst's job for "Monday Night Football". He acknowledged some rough patches during his debut on television, and ultimately returned to the Cowboys after one season. There was little doubt that he could pull it off from a physical standpoint.He had earned Pro Bowl honors in 11 of his first 15 seasons and set a Cowboys record by playing in 235 consecutive games. Witten caught 63 passes while starting all 16 games in what turned out to be his final season with the Cowboys, before finishing his career in 2020 with the Las Vegas Raiders. He retired for good in 2021 at the age of 38, having played in more games (271) at that time than any tight end in NFL history.10. Steve DeBergIn the summer of 1998, the Atlanta Falcons signed DeBerg to be their backup quarterback because they were concerned about depth behind starter Chris Chandler. DeBerg was 44 -- that's not a typo -- and had last been on an NFL roster in 1993. DeBerg was a friend of coach Dan Reeves and knew his offensive system, so not only did he make the team, but he also started one game and played in a total of eight as the Falcons marched to Super Bowl XXXIII.DeBerg had an 80.4 passer rating, completing 30 of 59 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns. The only player in NFL history with more attempts at that age or older is Vinny Testaverde, who threw 172 for the Panthers at age 44 in 2007.
