Trent McDuffie Says Stafford, McVay Have No Answer for Myles Garrett-Aaron Donald Duo

Trent McDuffie has heard the pitch on what a Myles Garrett-Aaron Donald defensive line could look like for the Los Angeles Rams. He’s tried to poke holes in it. He can’t find any.

The All-Pro cornerback, who joined the Rams in a March trade from the Kansas City Chiefs, said he’s picked the brains of quarterback Matthew Stafford and head coach Sean McVay about how an offense would even begin to block Garrett and Donald on the same snap — assuming Donald ends his retirement and rejoins the team. Their answer, according to McDuffie: they don’t know either.

“I even try to think of it from the offense’s perspective,” McDuffie said on “The Rich Eisen Show,” per the NFL on ESPN X account. “And talking to Matthew Stafford, I’m like ‘how are you guys even gonna do your blocking schemes. Who are you gonna slide to, who are you gonna try to double team? What problems does Aaron Donald and Myles Garrett cause for the offense?’ And Stafford and Sean McVay are both just like ‘we don’t even know.'”

“For me, sitting on the back end, I’m cheesing just thinking about it.”

NFL on ESPN posted the clip on X on August 11, 2026:

"Sitting on the backend, I’m cheesing just thinking about it."

Rams DB Trent McDuffie speaks on the possibility of Aaron Donald and Myles Garrett on the same D-line 👀

(via @richeisenshow) pic.twitter.com/GTKj27jCdX

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) August 11, 2026

Donald’s Return Still Unresolved

McDuffie’s excitement comes with a real asterisk. Donald has not formally come out of retirement, and as of this week, the Rams are still waiting on him to make a decision. Coach Sean McVay said after training camp wrapped at Loyola Marymount University that Donald’s formal workout “went well” but that there was “no new news” on a return, according to ABC News.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has reported the situation continues trending toward a comeback, though nothing is official. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio has indicated a decision could come by the end of this week, with the Rams reportedly targeting a workload of 30 to 40 snaps for Donald in the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia, should he choose to play, according to Yahoo Sports’ report on Florio’s reporting.

Donald’s interest in a comeback reportedly took shape after the Rams traded for Garrett on June 1. He’s since gone through multiple workouts with the team, including one described by McVay as encouraging. Still, this remains a developing situation — not a confirmed return.

McDuffie’s Fresh Start in Los Angeles

McDuffie’s own offseason came with its own share of turbulence. The Chiefs traded him to the Rams in March in exchange for four draft picks, and McDuffie has since said he found out about the deal from a phone notification during a workout, before his agent had even confirmed it, according to Yardbarker’s recap of his appearance on the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast.

He didn’t leave Kansas City empty-handed. The Rams signed McDuffie to a four-year, $124 million extension upon completing the trade, a deal that made him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL at the time, according to NFL.com. A two-time Super Bowl champion with the Chiefs, McDuffie was a First-Team All-Pro in 2023 and a Second-Team All-Pro in 2024, recording 246 tackles, three interceptions, 34 passes defended and 5.5 sacks over four seasons in Kansas City.

Now back in his home state — McDuffie grew up in Westminster, California, and played high school ball at Mater Dei and St. John Bosco — he’s stepping into a Rams secondary that finished 19th in the NFL against the pass a season ago, during a run that ended in an NFC Championship Game loss.

Why the Pairing Would Matter

The football logic behind McDuffie’s excitement isn’t complicated. Offensive lines build protection schemes around identifying the most dangerous rushers and building extra blockers — a double-team, a chip from a tight end or running back, a slide protection call — toward them. That works when there’s one true problem to solve.

Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, is already that problem by himself. Add Donald, an eight-time First-Team All-Pro who spent a decade wrecking games from the interior before retiring, and there may not be enough extra blockers to go around. If both require a double team, offenses are down to five blockers covering three or four other rushers with no help left over — exactly the math McDuffie was describing.

For McDuffie, that math is personal. More pressure up front generally means more time for a cornerback to disrupt a route before the ball needs to come out, and more rushed or errant throws for a secondary to feed on.

By the Numbers

Whether or not Donald suits up, McDuffie’s comments reflect where the Rams’ defense already believes it’s headed: a unit built around one of the league’s most disruptive edge rushers, with a Hall of Fame-caliber piece potentially still to come. The Rams’ preseason opener against McDuffie’s former team, the Chiefs, is scheduled for Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium — a fitting early test for a defense that’s still waiting to see its full potential ceiling.