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With Aaron Donald anchoring his defense, Sean McVay was able to lead the Los Angeles Rams to two Super Bowls and plenty of regular season success. But as the team gears up for one big push for another Lombardi Trophy, he's not exactly pressuring Donald to come out of retirement.
In an interview with Jason LaCanfora, McVay revealed that he has spoken to Donald recently about returning to football. He said that the two of them have a "reall special relationship" but he accepts that Donald will go through the process of potentially returning to the NFL on his own time.
“I have crossed paths with Aaron Donald,” McVay said. “What’s special is, we have a really special relationship. It’s way bigger than football. I’ve heard him say it before and it means the world to me — and I feel the same — it’s family with us. He’s done so much for me. I love the man he is. I love the husband, the father, the son — he represents a lot of the things that are right.
“And what he’s going to do is, he is thinking about this. He’s going to go through his process. And the one thing about Aaron Donald is, what he does, he does it full speed ahead.”
Donald's Dominance
Donald established himself as one of the most dominant defensive players in NFL history during his 10-season career with the Rams. He made an immediate impact by winning the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Despite playing defensive tackle—a position that traditionally produces fewer statistics than edge rushers—he consistently overwhelmed offenses with his combination of strength, speed, and technique.
Donald "finished" his career with 111 sacks, 543 total tackles, 176 tackles for loss, and 24 forced fumbles, earning 10 Pro Bowl selections and eight First-Team All-Pro honors while never missing an All-Pro team during his decade in the league.
Donald capped his remarkable career by helping lead the Rams to victory in Super Bowl LVI, recording two sacks in the NFC Championship Game and delivering the game-clinching pressure on the Cincinnati Bengals' final offensive play in the Super Bowl. He was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year three times (2017, 2018, and 2020), tying the league record for the award, and was selected to both the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest defensive tackles ever to play the game, Donald retired following the 2023 season, but there have been recent whispers that he's intrigued at the idea of joining the team on one last push for a Super Bowl title before starting QB Matthew Stafford retires.
