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After 10 glorious seasons playing with the Los Angeles Rams, former defensive player of the year Aaron Donald retired in 2023 as he felt content with his achievement in a decade. But the fans always thought he should have continued playing for a few more years and often talked about what would happen if he came back.
At some point even Donald seemed to entertain the Rams fans hinting at his possible come back. As the discussion of him returning is at its peak, the former NFL defensive made a bold statement on his return and its effect on the Rams.
Gerald McCoy Predicts Super Bowl if Aaron Donald Returns to Rams
Aaron Donald is one of the most dominant defensive players in modern NFL history. Drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the first round, 13th overall of the 2014 NFL Draft out of the University of Pittsburgh, Donald spent his entire 10-year career with the franchise. In the span won 10 years with the Rams, he has been named NFL Defensive Player of The Year 3 times, 8-times First team all-pro, 10- Pro-Bowl selections and was named the defensive rookie player of the year in 2014. He also won the Super Bowl in 2021 with the Rams.
After the 2023 season, at the age of 32, he announced his retirement. “”I’m complete. I’m full,” Aaron Donald said at the time. “I think the passion to play the game is no longer there for me. I will always love football, but to think about going through another camp and another 17-(game) season, I just don’t got the urge to want to push myself through that no more. I’m just, I’m burnt out. The best way to say it is I’m full, I’m complete. I’m satisfied with what I was able to do in 10 years. I think it’s time for me at 32 years old to retire from football and jump into the next step of my career, my life. Now it’s time to move on.”
But very recently he has been teasing the Rams fans on his return on interviews and social media posts. He commented the “eyes” emoji in an Instagram post that talked about his return with the Rams. Nothing has been confirmed yet but he sure successfully got the fans to their edges hinting his return.
While the speculations continue to spread, former NFL defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, a fellow All-Pro and Pro Bowler who played against and respected Donald, weighed in on Donald’s return and what effects he might bring to the Rams. “If Aaron Donald was to come back, it would be very hard not to see them at least being in the Super Bowl,” said Gerald McCoy.
When such statements come from someone like Gerald McCoy, who was a longtime starting defensive tackle himself, a Pro Bowler, and an All-Pro and who also played in the same era and position as Donald, it means serious business. But everything comes down to whether Donald would actually return despite the speculations that he himself helped spark.
Will Aaron Donald Really Return?
Even after his own attempt at teasing the fans, there hasn’t been any reliable sources that confirms Donald would actually return. The fans sure are excited and the whole NFL community likes to think Donald still can return and provide a few more years of solid defense, but the return is still unlikely, at least according to Gerald McCoy.
“I have some insight,” McCoy said in an exclusive interview. “I don’t see it happening. When you take a person like Aaron Donald, or Barry Sanders, or even a Megatron (Calvin Johnson) — I’m using them because they stopped way before people expected them to,” McCoy said. “When you accomplish that much that early, you stop for a reason. He stopped playing because he knew the love he had to push through that grind was gone.”
“He accomplished everything he could accomplish. Pro Bowler every year. All-Pro every year. Won a Super Bowl. Three-time Defensive Player of the Year. It’s like, ‘What else do I need to do? If I come back, is it to get another Super Bowl? I already have one.'” If Donald does return, it would surprise McCoy but he doesn’t have any doubt over Donald’s capability to make it at 35.
“If he really wanted to lock in, he could come back and play and be a third-down threat. He wouldn’t be the A.D. we know and remember because he’d be rusty. But he’s so gifted athletically, so talented, so skilled, that, yeah, even being out the game for two years, he could come back and play if he wanted to.” McCoy said.
McCoy believes he doesn’t have much to do if he wants to return. All he needs to do is to get in shape. But despite the praises, he thinks Donald would opt out to return and lead the life he is having after the retirement.
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