NFL players to unretire: Aaron Donald joins Tom Brady, Brett Favre as stars to come out of retirement image
Some of the NFL's greatest players have proven quite fickle over the years. In a sport that requires, above all else, decisiveness, the league's greatest talents have often failed to be direct, especially when it comes to figuring out their prospects at the end of their careers.
For some, retirement is a warm embrace to civilian life after years of pain and anguish. For others, it's a hermitage, a torturous chamber that can leave one feeling less than whole.
With advances in player health, the league's elder statesmen have been able to play longer than ever before. That doesn't always work out for them; Teddy Bridgewater did little across his final season in the league, for example.
With that, here's a look at notable NFL players to retire, only to announce their intention to return to the sport a short (or long) time later.
NFL players to unretire
Aaron Donald
Year retired: 2024
Year of NFL return: 2026
Team of NFL return: Rams
Donald hung up his cleats after the 2023 season, citing waning passion as the reason to end his glittering 10-year career.
The eight-time first-team All-Pro selection and three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner flirted with a potential return to the NFL after the Rams traded for Myles Garrett.
That spurred a ramp-up in training for the 35-year-old, who told Pat McAfee and Jordan Schultz that he was considering the possibility of making his long-awaited comeback.
Donald completed a pair of workouts at Los Angeles' facility, racing down the Rams' practice field with defensive linemen Braden Fiske and Desjuan Johnson on Aug. 9. Weeks later, on Aug. 30, he announced his intention to return, spurning the familiar confines of retirement for the gridiron.
Philip Rivers
Year retired: 2021
Year of NFL return: 2025
Team of NFL return: Colts
Rivers spent four seasons out of the game, announcing his retirement after a glittering age-39 campaign with the Colts in 2020.
In December 2025, the 44-year-old gunslinger signed with Indianapolis after Daniel Jones, Anthony Richardson and Riley Leonard were all ruled out due to injury. Just about no one saw the decision coming.
Rivers' relationship with Colts head coach Shane Steichen was commonly cited as a major reason for his comeback. Steichen was on the Chargers' staff for Rivers' final six seasons with the organization. The aging QB was familiar with Steichen's concepts, giving him a leg up over other free-agent hurlers desperate for a gig.
Indianapolis was unable to lock down a playoff spot during Rivers' second stint. The Colts lost all three games Rivers started, relegating them to a third-place finish in the AFC South. Rivers' patented arm strength had atrophied, preventing him from getting some of Indianapolis' top targets involved in the attack. He limped through the three-game campaign, posting a final line of 63.3% passing, 544 yards and four touchdowns to three interceptions.
Brandon Graham
Year retired: 2025
Year of NFL return: 2025
Team of NFL return: Eagles
Graham, a one-time Pro Bowler who spent more than half a decade as a starter on the Eagles' vaunted defense, looked destined to ride into the sunset gracefully after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in his final full season. The then-37-year-old announced he was retiring after Philadelphia's Super Bowl 59 triumph over the Chiefs, spelling an end to a glittering 15-year spell in football's top flight.
As injuries piled up in the Eagles' front four at the start of the 2025 season, reports began to surface suggesting the 37-year-old was considering coming out of retirement. In October 2025, Philadelphia announced that it was signing Graham for the remainder of the year. He tallied three sacks in nine games.
Eric Weddle
Year retired: 2019
Year of NFL return: 2022
Team of NFL return: Rams
At his pomp, Weddle was one of the NFL's fiercest defensive backs, blessed with an enchanting blend of sure-handed tackling and ball-hawk skills who led the league in interceptions in 2011. A six-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro selection, Weddle announced his retirement following the conclusion of the 2020 season.
Two years later, Weddle reneged, linking up with Los Angeles' practice squad after it the 53-man roster lost its starting safeties due to injury.
Weddle ascended to the playoff roster, featuring prominently as the Rams surged to a Super Bowl title. The then-36-year-old started the NFC Championship and Super Bowl, holding down his place in Sean McVay's defense even after starter Taylor Rapp returned.
In the Super Bowl, Weddle tore his pectoral muscle. He refused to exit the game, playing all 61 defensive snaps as Los Angeles hoisted the Lombardi Trophy above its heads.
"When something comes across, a second chance in life, a chance of a lifetime, you gotta take that leap of faith and see what happens," Weddle said of his decision to return, per The Orange County Register.
Tom Brady
Year retired: 2022
Year of NFL return: 2022
Team of NFL return: Buccaneers
Brady is the pied piper of going back on his vow to retire. The famed quarterback announced his intention to retire following the 2021 season, only to return to the sport a little more than one month later.
Brady's U-turn proved consequential in more ways than one for the future Hall-of-Famer. He and Gisele Bundchen announced they were filing for divorce seven months after Brady un-retired. Bundchen had previously expressed concerns over Brady continuing his football career.
"Obviously, I have my concerns — this is a very violent sport, and I have my children and I would like him to be more present," Bundchen told Elle in an Oct. 2022 piece. "I have definitely had those conversations with him over and over again. But ultimately, I feel that everybody has to make a decision that works for [them]. He needs to follow his joy, too."
On the field, Brady was solid, completing 66.8% of his passes for 4,694 yards and 25 touchdowns. Still, his performances lagged from his displays the year prior, when he flirted with MVP honors. Tampa Bay missed the playoffs during his final season. Brady announced that he was done "for good" in Feb. 2023.
Marshawn Lynch
Year retired: 2015; 2017
Year of NFL return: 2017; 2019
Team of NFL return: Raiders; Seahawks
In his prime, Lynch was the league's masked marauder, using his hulking frame to leave defenders gasping on the grass. Lynch enjoyed a wondrous first 10 years in the league, earning five Pro Bowl nods and a first-team All-Pro appearance while tallying more than 9,000 yards and 74 touchdowns on the ground.
The Oakland native announced his retirement following an injury-plagued 2015 season. Two years later, Lynch was back, this time in Raiders colors. Lynch said he wanted his kids to get a chance to see him play for his beloved hometown team before it jetted to Las Vegas.
Lynch surpassed 10,000 rushing yards during his time in Oakland, but those injury woes proved difficult to escape. Following the conclusion of the 2018 season, Lynch planned to end his playing career.
Lynch couldn't stay away for too long, though. In 2019, the Seahawks, having lost their top three tailbacks to injury, called in reinforcements in the form of the 5-11, 215-pound wrecking ball from Oakland.
Beast Mode shined in goal-line situations during Seattle's playoff run, scoring three touchdowns across two games. Lynch's return was hardly graceful, but he did prove effective, at least at times.
Rob Gronkowski
Year retired: 2019
Year of NFL return: 2020
Team of NFL return: Buccaneers
Widely regarded as one of the greatest tight ends in league history, Gronkowski's legacy sparkled by the time he left the game for the first time in 2019. The four-time first-team All-Pro tight end appeared to finish his career in style, hoisting his third Lombardi Trophy after the Patriots downed the Rams, 13-3, in Super Bowl 53.
At just 29 years old, Gronkowski announced his retirement. He seemed content with his decision, which he said was informed by football's impact on his mental health.
For a year, Gronkowski lied in amber, embracing his status as an NFL has-been. But when the Buccaneers and Brady came knocking, Gronkowski couldn't help but restart his big-league career.
Gronkowski talleid more than 1,400 yards and 13 touchdowns during his two seasons in Tampa Bay. He played a leading role in the Buccaneers' Super Bowl triumph over the Chiefs in 2021, finding the end zone twice as Tampa Bay raced to the crown.
Randy Moss
Year retired: 2011
Year of NFL return: 2012
Team of NFL return: 49ers
Moss drifted somewhere between fable and phenomenon during his prime. In Minnesota, he was a titan, soaring to the heavens to bring down lofted passes. With the Patriots, he was a machine, linking up with Brady to produce the most dominant battery the league has ever seen.
By the end of his career, he was neither. Moss toiled during stints with the Vikings and Titans, leading him to hang up his cleats in 2011. One year later, he shrouded himself in Niners colors, attempting to play a tertiary role in Jim Harbaugh's attack. Results were mixed; Moss tallied 434 yards and three touchdowns, striking a solid partnership with Colin Kaepernick. But he looked a world away from the pass-catching marvel he once was. Moss announced he was retiring for good after the 2012 season.
Brett Favre
Year retired: 2008
Year of NFL return: 2008
Team of NFL return: Jets; Vikings
Favre's retirements are the stuff of urban legend now, albeit for different reasons. With the Packers, Favre was less a quarterback than an erratic trebuchet. He would find his target more times than most. But when his aim was off, it could lead to some ugly showings.
Still, with three MVPs, one Super Bowl and miles of passing yardage, Favre looked destined to sail off into the sunset delicately following the 2007 season.
Then, he didn't. Months after formally declaring his intention to retire, Favre made a U-turn. He eventually landed with the Jets for the 2008 season. Things did not go well. On the field, Favre struggled mightily, recording the most interceptions in the league. Off it, he was embroiled in controversy, drawing the NFL's ire after allegedly sexting and leaving inappropriate voice messages for Jets Gameday host Jenn Sterger. The league found that Favre did not violate its personal conduct policy. However, he was handed a $50,000 fine for failing to cooperate with the investigation.
Favre found more success in his next NFL stop, putting up MVP-like numbers during his first season with the Vikings in 2009. An ugly interception in the NFC Championship robbed Minnesota of a chance to compete for the Lombardi Trophy. His next season was far less successful; Favre recorded 19 interceptions to 11 touchdowns for the Vikings, who limped to a 6-10 record.