Even if your travel expenses were paid for and you had all of the time in the world, you’d still be hard pressed to find a more gifted athlete than Aaron Donald. From his pass rushing prowess to his viral workout videos that feature him handling 160-pound dumbbells in each hand, fans are still enamored by Donald to this day even though he formally retired from the National Football League in March of 2024.
Advertisement
Now, when he goes on media tours and podcast appearances, his interviewers and former teammates can’t help but to regale with him in some of his former feats of strength. The most humorous example of that can be found in Donald’s latest chat with his former quarterback, Matthew Stafford, where the two of them made an appearance on the Inner Circle podcast.
“Every workout, I’d see him. I’d just be working on some bands and he would be over here just mutilating f**king weights in our weight room,” Stafford recalled as he laughed and shook his head. The 17-year veteran certainly had no shortage of stories, and even admitted that he is incapable of passing up an opportunity to recall the time in which Donald worked out with a high schooler for charity.
“There was a Make-a-Wish kid, and he had beaten cancer and he’s like a healthy high school kid at this point and it was awesome… His dream was that he wanted to hang out with A.D. and workout with A.D. for the day,” Stafford prefaced. “This kid comes in and A.D. is like, ‘Hey man, if you’re gonna do it, you’re keeping up with me. I ain’t f**king letting you down.'”
What followed was probably one of the most regrettable moments of the young man’s life, as he was tasked with going rep for rep with one of the most feared defensive linemen in gridiron history. “He destroys this kid,” Stafford recalled with a smile on his face.
“He’s puking in the trashcan in the hallway from bicep curls. That’s how many bicep curls they did… I’m over there in the corner just watching it happen and I’m like, this is just torture for this kid… It was a tough day for the kid.”
Of course, Stafford was just glad to see that Donald was equally brutal on everyone, not just him. Having also been a former teammate of Ndamukong Suh, it’s safe to say that the veteran QB knows terrifying pass rushers better than most, so when he makes a particular distinction for Donald, you know there’s more truth than bias to it.
“A.D. ruined so many practices that we were a part of,” Stafford joked. Thankfully, he was able to spend his older years as a teammate of Darnold, rather than as an opponent. Otherwise, we may not still be able to enjoy Stafford’s performances on Sunday afternoons.
