Retiring in 2024, the former Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle, Aaron Donald, made it clear that he was either all in or out. After a decade-long NFL tenure with 154 career regular-season games for 543 tackles and 111 sacks, he opted for the latter. However, when a workaholic like him retires, he doesn’t just leave the game. While defensive coordinator Chris Shula has led the transition with a clear sense of direction, making them the best defense in the league, it’s not hard to wonder what would happen if Donald were to rejoin the 11-4 team.

“If I get those one-on-one opportunities, I can walk away with a few sacks,” Donald told former Atlanta quarterback and host Matt Ryan on the Inner Circle Podcast.

The question came after Ryan told him how he talked to former defensive lineman JJ Watt, who said he could give his team at least a sack on 20 pass rush snaps. For the two legends that haunted the opposing offense during the same era, competition has clearly not diminished for the two, as Donald just raised the stakes.

It’s not completely surprising.

Those one-on-ones were Donald’s specialty. He has a history of thriving in isolated rushes, since the opponents planned their strategies around him, and he would still split doubles for key stops. In fact, before his final season, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler revealed that Donald has been double-teamed 1,797 times in his last six years before retirement, outpacing every NFL player by 152. Offenses chipped away with extra blockers to contain him, yet he converted pressure into disruption.

And since he’s already connected with the Rams through Jared Verse and Kobe Turner, he can come back tomorrow and fit right in.

From 2017 to 2023, he logged 83 sacks, trailing only T.J. Watt’s 96.5 sacks. Until the 2023 season, he was leading all defensive tackles with a 26% pass-rush win rate since 2017. And that was after every opposing team planned to double-team the No. 99. So if a player of that stature is talking about logging a few sacks on one-on-one, it adds some weight to the conversation.

However, this isn’t the first time he has discussed a comeback.

Shula talked on the Green Light podcast this April, discussing how he had to apply new defensive strategies for their younger core since Donald retired. Right then, he also praised the 34-year-old for his physique.

“He probably could show up for training camp a few weeks and still be a really good, dominant player for us.”

Then in August, amid Micah Parsons’ drama with the Cowboys, the Rams legend gave it a thought. With fans sharing a picture of Parsons in the Rams uniform, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year couldn’t contain himself and wrote:

“If [Parsons goes] to the Rams, I might have to … get in football shape. With that Dline would be unreal.”

However, Parsons then joined the Green Bay Packers in a blockbuster deal, and the chances of Donald unretiring vanished. A month ago, while inaugurating the ‘An Evening With Aaron Donald’ fundraiser, the No. 99 cleared the possibility of his return.

“To be honest with you, I never have had an itch after I retired to like, ‘I want to come back, I want to play football still.’ You miss things from the game, and for me, it’s not really playing the game. It’s being in the locker room, hanging with the guys, watching film, cracking jokes, more the camaraderie with the fellas.”​

So, he has clearly claimed that football no longer calls him as it did before, and so, he’s not returning to the sport despite the love. After all, he had already given it another chance after he almost made up his mind to hang up his cleats in 2022.

While he has given his current verdict, when dominant players like him suddenly call it a day, it leaves many wondering what if. Some are still hung on the same thought.

Jason Kelce urges Aaron Donald’s Super Bowl return

It turns out there are many in the league rooting for Donald to unretire. On a recent edition of the New Heights podcast, the Eagles’ legend Jason Kelce urged the ten-time Pro Bowler to return to Los Angeles and give their chances of bringing home the iconic Vince Lombardi Trophy a strong backing.

“Aaron Donald, bring him back,” urged Kelce. “Go on a Super Bowl run AD. Who else could go do it?”

If it wasn’t for the 8-time All-Pro, the Rams might not have sealed the victory in Super Bowl LVI against the Cincinnati Bengals. In the final moments of a three-point game, he charged forward on fourth down, pressuring Joe Burrow and forcing a desperate incompletion that ultimately made LA champions at 23-20.

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Moreover, back in April, Jalen Ramsey also voiced a similar hope, saying it would be legendary if Donald unretired.

Not to mention, with Matthew Stafford being a favorite for the MVP award as he leads the league-best offense into the playoffs, a presence like Donald can heavily disrupt any plans the opponents had.

While it’s not certain whether he has been conversing with Sean McVay and the front office about a return, Donald’s confidence hints he still believes he could dominate if he chose to return. In the meantime, he will sit with the young defensive core of the Rams and break down films with them, helping them in any way he can.