There wasn’t much overlap between Aaron Donald and Puka Nacua. One was a 32-year-old defensive tackle on the edge of retirement. The other, a fifth-round rookie wide receiver with no expectations and no filter. But inside the Rams’ locker room last season, they connected.

Donald appreciated players who showed up on time, handled their business, and didn’t need attention. Nacua didn’t exactly avoid attention. His touchdown celebrations made that impossible. But he played hurt, blocked downhill, and kept a consistent routine. That mattered to Donald. He noticed it early. He may not have gone out of his to show it, but the flashes were always there.

This week, the connection resurfaced one more time. Donald posted a short video to Instagram from what looked like his closet. In it, he flipped his long hair and said, “I will be Puka Nacua,” mimicking the receiver’s post-touchdown hair flip with a flat expression and no explanation. Nacua reposted it with three words: “😂 The hair flip.”

Their bond remains strong, there’s no doubt. When Puka was on the Join the Lobby podcast, the rookie WR shared his retirement plan. While talking about it, he indirectly showed how much he follows Aaron Donald. “I know I want to retire at the age of 30. I’m 23 right now, I’m going into Year 3 — it wouldn’t even be 10 years. It’d be maybe seven or eight. I think of Aaron Donald, to go out at the top, I think it would be super cool.” 

And Aaron doesn’t shy away from flexing their friendship either. When he was on the ‘Green Lights with Chris Long’ podcast on April 6, 2024, the former NFLer Chris Long asked the defender about Puka. He said, “He stayed the same person. He keeps doing the same things every single week, bro, and it’s like if he stays like that and he stays hungry and if he wants to be great.” He also added future speculation about Puka based on the qualities he has.

Donald said, “In my opinion, I think he can do some things that have never been done in this league. He’s just gotta keep working, but he was fun to watch.” 2024 was Puka’s second year in the NFL, and he was fabulous in the season while receiving 79 passes for 990 yards at an average of 12.5.

The Instagram story, though, may be the last time we hear from Donald in a Rams context for a while. According to a team source, Donald has informed the organization he does not plan to return in any formal role in 2025. There had been some informal conversations earlier in the offseason about whether he’d be interested in consulting during camp or staying around the building in a player development capacity. Those talks never progressed. Donald has made clear he’s stepping away from the game entirely—for now.

The video wasn’t a farewell. But in Donald’s way, it was close. He spent 10 years giving the Rams a clear identity, and now he’s going to enjoy his retirement.

Aaron Donald’s future plan revealed

If you re-watch Donald’s impersonation video of Puka Nacua, he gave us the future plan in just one line. But that one caption has a flip side. His caption goes like, “See you in Maui 🌴”. That means the defensive star is gonna land in Maui for the minicamp. The Rams organisation announced Wednesday that they are going to arrange a minicamp on Maui. The camp will be in association with the Hawaii Tourism Authority. 

It is also said that the Rams will be the first NFL organisation to make such a move. And in the context of Aaron Donald, he will be either joining the event or will be available for the photoshoot, per Yahoo Sports. It will take place from June 16-19 at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku. Players will be on the field June 17 and 18, with fans being able to attend each day. 

This will be Puka Nacua and the team’s first official event together following the conclusion of the 2024 season. It marks an exciting opportunity to see how the chemistry and momentum they’ve built will carry forward. Let’s see how this will unfold and what surprises the event might bring.