Matthew Stafford nailed why potential Aaron Donald return should terrify QBs

Quarterback Matthew Stafford spent three seasons with Los Angeles Rams legend Aaron Donald, from 2021 to 2023, before the latter's retirement. So he knows first-hand what a monster opposing QBs had to deal with. 

Actually, he had his own experience in their shoes during his Lions tenure. In particular, Stafford remembers a game against Los Angeles in Donald's second season, in which Donald notched three sacks and six quarterback hits en route to a Rams win. 

"I mean, that was a game I'll never forget. … Aaron gets through the line and rips the ball off me, takes both my biceps and pulls them apart. I got two hands on it, right? So I'm doing quote, unquote, 'my job.' And he just goes zwoosh. 

"I come over to the sideline and I'm like, 'I got two hands on it. I don't know what to do.' And [offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter] is like, 'Gotta find a way to hold onto it.' Get the f— out of here with that, dude. He is so strong, you know. That's the ultimate coach. 'You gotta figure out a way.' I'm like, 'There ain't no way.'"

That was back in 2015. Donald was 24. Even at age 35, he is still in tip-top shape, still possessed of the Herculean strength that should make his potential return to the Rams this season terrifying to any quarterback in the league. He may be retired for now, but he's still Aaron Donald.

Prospect of Donald's return should drum up league-wide QB dread

Per ESPN insider Adam Schefter, the possibility of Donald's return is gaining "momentum." That's bad news for all 31 starting quarterbacks not employed by the Rams. Donald retired three seasons ago still in elite form. You can bet he has some juice left. Just ask Stafford.

AD was the type of superhuman game-wrecker coaches couldn't hope to scheme out of the picture. Thrust double teams his way, deploy chip blocks, stash an extra running back in the backfield to slow his path to the quarterback. By then, it was already too late. Throw the whole kitchen sink at Donald and it didn't matter.

"Gotta find a way" isn't much of a way to deal with him. Donald was, by his standards, just a baby when Stafford encountered him. He was two seasons from his first of three Defensive Player of the Year awards. 

Fresh off winning Defensive Rookie of the Year, Donald was undeniably an extremely talented young star. But predicting the full force of his Hall of Fame trajectory was, at that point, impossible.

"I mean, I don't know if you ever know what that guy's going to become. It was unbelievable how great his career was," Stafford said.

If Donald does return, the Rams won't expect him to do so at his peak, or even necessarily to pick up where he left off. With a pass rush led by Myles Garrett, Byron Young, and Kobie Turner, they don't need him to do any of that. But adding Donald to an already formidable defensive front, saving him for the most crucial plays, would be, frankly, unfair. 

Stafford found out just how unfair it was having to deal with his young self. Three DPOYs and a should-be first-ballot Hall of Fame career later, ascertaining whether that's still the case is not an experiment any opposing QB or offensive lineman should want to undertake.

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