Aaron Donald made his decision to hang up his cleats last month at the age of 32. “Throughout my career, I have given my everything to football both mentally and physically,” he shared in a statement, and rightfully so. During his time, he was one of the most feared defensive players. If Aaron Donald was left unattended, there was no way the ball was going to stay with the opposite team for long. But even such a tough player was weary around Jason Kelce!
In fact, even Kelce found facing Donald a very tough task. He said trying to block Donald was “like trying to wrestle a Liger coated in baby oil.”
Aaron Donald “hated” playing against Jason Kelce!
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In a conversation with former NFL DE Chris Long on the ‘Green Light’ podcast, the retired tackle discussed his ten seasons in the league. Donald was asked if there was any team that had good planning in the game and would force the tackle to rethink his strategies. The retired Rams player had a prompt response- “Philly.”
“I hated playing against Philly Kelce. His little fast a** always ran full. He would snap the ball and run over right now, and just- I’m like, bro, you got some good guards, let them work. You don’t got to help them every time. I’m not let- you’re not gonna -let you ruin the game. I’m like every single play every time I played the Eagles, bro I really never really got no one-on-ones I probably had like one or two during a game, and that would be it.”
Donald also mentioned the Saints, at the beginning of his career, and the San Francisco 49ers, more recently, as two other teams who did a good job of making the play difficult for him. However, coming back to Kelce, he had a perfect description of what it was like facing Donald. Apart from comparing him to a Liger, Kelce believed he was lucky he didn’t have to block him one-on-one often.
He even shared how Donald would talk on the field. “’Kelce, stop comin’ over. What are you helpin’ the guard for?’” That’s what Donald would shout at Kelce. However, for the former Eagles player, the reason was clear. Aaron Donald was the best and he wouldn’t allow him to ruin the game for the Eagles. As both praised each other, the retired Eagles star also divulged the approach to handling the formidable DT.
Jason Kelce revealed the formula to stop Aaron Donald!
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The key to stopping Donald was to not let him have any one-on-one plays. And the Eagles cracked the code to do that successfully in each game. On their podcast, ‘New Heights,’ the Kelce brothers talked about the defense legend’s retirement. The older Kelce explained that Donald “never had a sack against the Eagles,” only because “the Eagles had his number.” He also said that Aaron Donald was the only player who dominated enough respect and fear that the entire gameplay was based around him.
The guys took some time to reminisce on the greatness of Aaron Donald pic.twitter.com/SfsCHEfUYh
— New Heights (@newheightshow) March 20, 2024
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Aaron Donald retired with 111 sacks, 340 solo tackles, and 176 tackles for loss in his ten-year-long career in the league. The eight-time All-Pro, 10-time Pro Bowl, and the LVI Super Bowl Champion leave behind a legacy that will remain unmatched for years to come.