Gerald McCoy never played on the same team as Aaron Donald, but they overlapped for years as two of the NFC's most dominant defensive tackles.
So when the six-time Pro Bowler says it's unlikely Donald makes a Rams comeback after two years of retirement, it feels like more than a random prognostication.
"I have some insight," McCoy said in an exclusive interview. "I don't see it happening."
While the NFL world is abuzz with a potential Donald return following L.A.'s trade for Myles Garrett earlier this month, McCoy says generational stars tend to hang it up early because they have nothing left to accomplish.
"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 make a return at age-35, it would surprise McCoy. But there's no doubt in McCoy's mind Donald could do it.
"Eric Weddle did it," McCoy said. "Eric was sitting and then played in the playoffs, the highest level of football you can play. If A.D. wanted to really lock in -- right now it's middle of June. Training camp will come and he'd sign. He wouldn't do a lot in practice; he'd just be getting in shape.
"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 is a proud Oklahoma Sooners alum, and the program has churned out some impressive quarterbacks in recent memory.
Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts and Caleb Williams are all established starters and aiming to take their teams on a deep playoff run this season.
When McCoy was asked which Oklahoma quarterback he would choose to start an NFL team, there was no hesitation.
"Caleb," McCoy said. "I don't even have to think about it. There are some things missing with Baker athletically. Kyler is a little smaller. Jalen really doesn't throw the ball that well, though he knows how to win. Caleb isn't missing anything. If I'm picking one guy to put in any system with any coach, I'm taking Caleb."
McCoy then takes it a step further.
"Caleb is immensely talented. He's almost overly-talented, what he can do throwing a football and what he can do with his legs. As soon as he gets to the point where he can relax and learn how to simplify the game, Caleb Williams will be the best quarterback in the NFL. Yes, I just said it. He's that talented."
-- Gerald McCoyMcCoy understands how high of a bar that is, with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson perennially dominating the competition.
But he thinks Williams has a legitimate shot to surpass them all.
"Ben Johnson is going to be a big part of it," McCoy said. "Being in Chicago, being with Ben Johnson, it's the perfect pairing. They both have to grow as coach and player.
"It's like Mahomes. If you take Mahomes away from Andy Reid, I don't know if we get the same Mahomes. He's talented and always was. Andy Reid has never had a bad quarterback because of the coach he is. He turns these guys into really, really good players. And when you give him a talent like Mahomes, this is what you get. Ben Johnson is that level of talent and offensive mind. If they both grow together, yes, I believe it will happen."
McCoy was one of the best players in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history and keeps close tabs on his former team.
The big question surrounding the organization is the future of quarterback Baker Mayfield, who is heading into the final year of his contract.
McCoy says he would "love" to see an extension finalized before training camp because letting Mayfield walk after the season could put Tampa in a bind.
"You want to have a guy that puts you in position to compete," McCoy said. "If you get rid of Baker, who is that guy? The draft is full of question marks. I don't care how good they were in college. That does not guarantee they will be good in the NFL.
"So if you get rid of Baker, who do you go get? Who is out there? If there's a top (NFL) quarterback out there, that team is not going to let them go. And to get a good guy in the draft, you've got to be trash. I don't plan on the Bucs being trash, so you might as well sign him. Let's build this thing and see what happens."
While Tom Brady helped the Buccaneers win a Super Bowl, McCoy points out how rare it's been for the organization to land a franchise quarterback that has settled in for years.
Mayfield has made a pair of Pro Bowls in his three years with Tampa Bay and is still in the midst of his prime at age-31.
"I don't know if they think Baker is old or what," McCoy said. "Baker is still young for the quarterback position, and you can lock in a guy that's got a lot of fight, got a lot of grit. You don't walk onto Texas Tech and then go to Oklahoma, win the Heisman and become the No. 1 overall pick without the 'It' factor. He has that.
"He knows how to win games, and he's really good at playing the quarterback position. All you have to do is make sure you build the offense around him and put him in great position to win. Baker will figure out a way to get the job done."
McCoy returned to his hometown of Oklahoma City to hold a youth camp on June 13.
McCoy is one of the biggest stars his area has ever produced and has been adamant on giving back on an annual basis. His camp was completely free for the attendees.
"When I set out to do this camp, one thing I said is that it's not going to be like every other camp," McCoy said. "Any parent or any kid that comes to our camp, they'll understand, one, it's free. We don't charge kids for life lessons. Two, we always make sure they leave with something, whether it's knowledge or a gift. We have MVPs of the camp, but also every kid gets a backpack.
"And then there are prizes. We gave out a TV, some AirPods, gave out an iPhone. And then, obviously, autographed signed footballs. We want them to leave this camp with something, man. They come to this camp to get coached. They come to this camp to be taught, not just to run over bags, and meet Gerald and other players. They come to learn. And I truly believe we accomplished it."
McCoy said he never got to meet former professional athletes as a kid and wants to inspire the next generation of kids in Oklahoma.
"It's very rewarding to go back to my city and give back," McCoy said. "I'm a former professional athlete now working in the media. We didn't have that where I'm from. We didn't have it like where I live in Texas now, where every school has a former professional athlete.
"Like (Jaxon Smith-Njigba) went to the rival high school that my daughter graduated from. He just won a Super Bowl, and that's normal in Texas. In Oklahoma City that's not normal, to be able to have professional athletes come back and impart something into these kids. Any opportunity I have to do that, I relish in the moment."
While McCoy is known for his time with the Buccaneers, his career wrapped with the Raiders in 2021.
That's where he got an inside look at fellow defensive lineman Maxx Crosby and his unrelenting drive to succeed.
"Maxx has a little of the (Michael) Jordan syndrome," McCoy said. "He creates these things in his head to motivate him. People love Maxx. Pretty much everybody loves Maxx. I don't know anybody that doesn't love Maxx. But in his mind, people are doubting him. I don't think there's a soul on earth that watches the game of football and says, 'You know what? The person to doubt is Maxx Crosby.' I don't think that happens.
"But in Maxx's mind, they're doubting him. 'They don't think I'm the best. They think this guy is the best. I was a fourth-round pick.' All of these different things run through his head and give him motivation, and it's a conduit."
Considering that's his standard mentality, McCoy said Crosby will be a man possessed this season.
The Raiders traded Crosby to the Ravens in March but the deal was rescinded after Baltimore didn't like the medical evaluation of Crosby's knee.
"You trade him. That's the guy we're going to trade? OK. And then that team says, 'Eh, I'm not really sure about the knee, let's send him back.' So both of y'all said nope and nope. Cool, well I've got something for both of y'all."
-- Gerald McCoy on Maxx Crosby"It's not only going to motivate himself to prove he still is who he is, but also to his organization and everybody across the NFL. So I would expect a huge year for Maxx. I wouldn't be surprised if he's a Defensive Player of the Year finalist or if he wins it."
McCoy played a role in recruiting Oklahoma defensive tackle David Stone to the Sooners.
Stone is expected to be a major presence in 2026 as the anchor on the defensive line. While Stone was good as a sophomore, McCoy envisions a leap to dominance as a junior.
"I'm excited to see if he takes that next step," McCoy said. "He played well last year. He's got something to him. That's a really good defensive lineman. Now, can he cross over that threshold into dominance? There's a difference in playing really well and dominating. I believe he has the ability to dominate. I just want to see if he takes that next step."
McCoy says the third year in college is when he began to feel extremely comfortable as a playmaker.
"I remember being in that position, being a highly-recruited player coming in," McCoy said. "I redshirted, and he was able to play a little bit. Then that (second) year you have a good year, and then go into that (third) year. It's like, 'Alright, I've gotten all the practice in, the traveling, the workouts and everything out of the way. Now it's go time.'
"That's when I made my first All-America team, when I was projected to go top-10 in the draft, all of these things. You get to a point where it's like, 'Nobody out there can do nothing with me.' I remember my mentor, Tommie Harris, told me he felt that way in his third year."