NFL’s 11 best comebacks from retirement, ranked ahead of Aaron Donald’s Rams return

Aaron Donald is coming out of retirement and returning to the Los Angeles Rams. He’s not the first NFL player to leave the comfort of retirement to put on a pair of shoulder pads again.

He now joins a list of athletes who have returned to their sport after spending some time away from the game. Where Donald will ultimately land on that list of athletes — a list that includes names like Michael Jordan, Mario Lemieux, Magic Johnson, Michael Schumacher, and others — remains to be seen.

But before Donald takes the field, we want to look at some more direct peers. Who are some NFL players who returned to the field after some time away from the game?

Here is a ranking of 11 players who returned to the NFL following significant time away from the league for retirement. For our purposes, we are not considering the brief retirements of Tom Brady and Brett Favre, or time away from the game for legal issues as with Michael Vick.

11. Jason Witten, TE

Jason Witten spent 15 years as a tight end with the Dallas Cowboys, earning 11 Pro Bowl selections and a pair of First-Team All-Pro odds. He retired after the 2017 season, moving to the ESPN booth for a spot on Monday Night Football for the 2018 season.

But his season in the booth was met with mixed reviews, and he decided to return to the field. Witten spent the 2019 season back in Dallas, starting all 16 games and catching 63 passes for 529 yards and four touchdowns. He spent his final NFL season in Las Vegas with the Raiders, starting seven games and playing in all 16, catching 13 passes for 69 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

10. Philip Rivers, QB

We start with one of the more fascinating stories from the 2025 NFL season. Philip Rivers retired from the NFL in 2020, and was named as one of the semifinalists for the 2026 Hall of Fame Class last November.

But that is around the time that Daniel Jones, the starting quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, was lost for the season with an Achilles tear. With the Colts sitting at 8-5 and clinging to a playoff spot, head coach Shane Steichen — who was Rivers’ quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator during their time with the Chargers — turned to his former QB to try and save the season.

First, he had to convince the 44-year-old high school coach to come out of retirement.

Rivers made three starts, throwing for 544 yards and four touchdowns, but eventually the Colts were eliminated from playoff contention.

9. Steve DeBerg, QB

Philip Rivers was not the only quarterback to return to the NFL in his mid-40s.

Steve DeBerg first announced his retirement in 1993, after playing 18 years with several teams including the San Francisco 49ers, the Denver Broncos, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Miami Dolphins.

He started 12 games for the 49ers back in 1978 while their future star, Joe Montana, was still at Notre Dame.

But in 1998 one of his former coaches, Dan Reeves, gave him a call. Reeves was now the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, and had a need behind starting quarterback Chris Chandler. Mark Rypien, the expected backup quarterback, stepped away from the game after his young son was diagnosed with brain cancer.

DeBerg knew the offensive system, similar to the story with Rivers and the Colts, and made the Falcons roster. He started one game that year and played in eight, completing 30-of-59 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns. The Falcons advanced to Super Bowl XXXIII, only to lose to none other than the Broncos.

8. Reggie White, DT

Reggie White first walked away from the NFL after the 1998 season, after a first stint in the league that saw him picked for 13 consecutive Pro Bowls from 1986 through 1998. He was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in both 1987, and 1998, and when he retired he led the league with 192.5 career sacks. The 1998 season, his sixth with the. Green Bay Packers, saw him picked as a First-Team All-Pro for the sixth time in his career.

But after sitting out 1999, he was convinced to come back to the league to play for the Carolina Panthers. In one year with the Panthers, White started all 16 games, recording 5.5 sacks.

7. Eric Weddle, S

Drafted in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers, Eric Weddle spent nine years with the organization, securing First-Team All-Pro honors twice. He signed with the Baltimore Ravens ahead of the 2016 season, where he spent the next four years of his career, earning a pair of Pro Bowl nods.

Weddle retired after the 2019 season, but as the 2021 NFL postseason beckoned, the Los Angeles Rams had a need in the secondary. Starting safety Jordan Fuller suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the final week of the season and his backup, Taylor Rapp, was in the concussion protocol. With the Rams set to face the Arizona Cardinals on Wild Card Weekend, Los Angeles convinced Weddle to come out of retirement.

Weddle played in all four of the Rams’ playoff games, making a pair of starts. He even tore a pectoral muscle early in Super Bowl LVI against the Cincinnati Bengals, but stayed in the game to record five tackles as the Rams beat the Bengals by a final score of 23-20.

It was the only Super Bowl appearance of his career.

6. Marshawn Lynch, RB

When it comes to running back Marshawn Lynch, you have two retirements to pick from.

Lynch first stepped away from the NFL the day of Super Bowl 50, posting a photo of his cleats hanging from a telephone wire on social media. He sat out the entire 2016 season, serving as an advisor to players at California, his alma mater.

But Lynch always wanted to play for his hometown team, the Oakland Raiders, and after sitting out the 2016 season he convinced the Seattle Seahawks to trade his rights to the team of his youth. He was officially traded to the Raiders in April of 2017, signing a two-year deal with the team.

He spent two years with the Raiders, starting in 21 games and rushing for 1,267 yards and ten touchdowns. However, a groin injury in October of 2018 ended his second season early, and he again retired.

Yet, he had one more NFL cameo in his future.

Late in the 2019 season, the Seahawks lost three running backs due to injury. He returned to Seattle for Week 17 against the San Francisco 49ers, notching 12 carries for 34 yards and a touchdown in a 26-21 loss. He scored a short touchdown run the following week, as the Seahawks beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round.

While Seattle’s playoff run ended the following week in a 28-23 loss to the Packers, Lynch scored a pair of touchdowns in the game.

5. Bronko Nagurski, RB/DT

We leave the modern era for a moment to talk about Bronko Nagurski, one of the legends of football’s early days.

Nagurski walked away from professional football after the 1937 season, his eighth year in the game, all with the Chicago Bears. He was a two-way player, serving as a running back on offense and a defensive tackle on the other side of the ball. He even saw time along the offensive line when needed due to injury.

After five years away from the game, and with the Bears having lost several players to the World War II effort, George Halas convinced him to come back to the Bears to help along the defensive line. But with Chicago facing the Chicago Cardinals with a spot in the 1943 NFL Championship Game on the line, Nagurski saw time on offense as well, scoring a touchdown in the 35-24 victory.

Nagurski scored a touchdown against Washington in the title game, as the Bears won 41-21.

After one season coaching in the collegiate ranks, Nagurski walked away from football totally, returning to farming.

4. Ricky Williams, RB

Running back Ricky Williams first walked away from the NFL after the 2003 season, choosing to retire from the Miami Dolphins rather than serve a four-game drug suspension. The running back spent the fall of 2004 at the California College of Ayurveda in Grass Valley, studying the Indian art of holistic medicine.

The Dolphins went 4-12 that year.

Williams returned to Miami the following summer, and after serving that suspension he appeared in 12 games for the Dolphins, making three starts. He ran for 743 yards and six touchdowns, and finished fifth in Comeback Player of the Year voting.

But the following February the league announced a fourth violation of the NFL’s drug policy, and he was suspended for the entire 2006 campaign. He spent that year with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, playing 11 games and rushing for 526 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell granted Williams’ request for reinstatement in October of 2007, and he returned to the Dolphins that November. But after just six carries in his return, he suffered a torn pectoral muscle, ending his season after just one game.

He played in all 16 games for Miami in each of the next three seasons, including the 2009 campaign where he ran for over 1,000 yards for the first time since the 2003 season. But after the 2010 season, where he ran for 673 yards and a pair of touchdowns, he signed a two-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens.

Williams spent one year in Baltimore, running for 444 yards and a pair of scores. He announced his retirement from the NFL in February of 2012.

3. Deion Sanders, CB

After a remarkable NFL career that spanned 12 seasons, four teams, two sports, and a pair of Super Bowls, Deion Sanders walked away from the league, and the Washington Redskins. Sanders signed a seven-year deal with Washington in the summer of 2000, after the Dallas Cowboys released him in a cost-cutting move.

But Sanders surprisingly retired in the summer of 2001 after just one year in Washington, even forfeiting part of an $8 million bonus he was owed, in an effort to get out of town.

His first attempt at a return came late in the 2002 season. Washington waived him from the reserve/retired list, in an effort to allow Sanders to play with the Raiders in the playoffs. But several other teams put in a waiver claim on him, and the Chargers secured his rights due to their spot in the waiver order. However, he was never activated.

Then came the Baltimore Ravens.

Sanders signed a one-year deal with the Ravens for the 2004 season, picking the number 37 to match his age. He appeared in nine games with a pair of starts, and recorded three interceptions. Sanders returned the first, against the Buffalo Bills in Week 7, for a touchdown, the ninth TD return of his career. He was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week after that performance.

He returned to Baltimore for the 2005 season, playing in every contest for the Ravens. He recorded 30 tackles and a pair of interceptions in that year, while breaking up five passes.

But after a second consecutive season missing the playoffs, Sanders retired again following the 2005 campaign.

2. Rob Gronkowski, TE

Rob Gronkowski spent nine years with the New England Patriots, becoming one of the most dangerous tight ends in league history. Over that stretch he secured four First-Team All-Pro nods, was named the league’s Comeback Player of the Year in 2014 after suffering a significant knee injury the previous year, and helped the Patriots win three Super Bowls during his New England tenure.

But citing the toll the sport was taking on his body and his mental health, Gronkowski retired after the 2018 season.

That retirement lasted a year, until his former quarterback came calling. With Tom Brady now in Tampa Bay with the Buccaneers, the quarterback sold Bruce Arians and the coaching staff on a trade for the tight end.

That first season in Tampa Bay, Gronkowski started all 16 games, catching 45 passes for 623 yards and seven touchdowns. Against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, Gronkowski caught a pair of touchdowns in a 31-9 romp. He also became the first player in league history to catch a pass in five different Super Bowls.

He returned to Tampa Bay for the 2021 season on a one-year deal. While he endured a rib injury that held him to just 12 games, he actually put up better numbers than the previous season, catching 55 passes for 802 yards and six scores.

Tampa Bay’s season ended in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round. Gronkowski caught four passes for 85 yards in that defeat.

He retired again that summer.

1. Randall Cunningham, QB

Randall Cunningham’s NFL career began in 1985 with the Philadelphia Eagles, and spanned 11 seasons in the City of Brotherly Love. But an ACL injury suffered in 1991, as well as some lingering injuries during the 1993 and 1994 season, saw Cunningham retire from the game following the 1995 season.

He started his own marble and granite business in Las Vegas, where he attended UNLV.

But in 1997 Dennis Green called, reaching Cunningham when the former quarterback was on a job site. Green, the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, had a need for a backup behind Brad Johnson, and Cunningham signed with the team. He appeared in six games, making three starts, and threw for six touchdowns during the 1997 season. During the playoffs that year, Cunningham led a pair of late scoring drives to help the Vikings comeback to beat the New York Giants 23-22 in the Wild Card round.

Then came the 1998 season.

Cunningham played in 15 games that year, making 14 starts, and he led the Vikings to a 13-1 record as a starter. He threw for 3,704 yards and 34 touchdowns, earning the first First-Team All-Pro selection of his career, and he finished second in MVP voting. He led the NFL with a 106.0 NFL Passer Rating, and guided an offense that scored a then-NFL record 556 points.

Minnesota’s season ended with a loss to the Falcons in the NFC Championship Game.

Cunningham lost the starting job early in the 1999 season, when he was benched after throwing nine interceptions in just six games. He spent time with the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens over the next few seasons, retiring again after the 2001 campaign.