McVay: Myles Garrett won’t return to practice yet

Garrett attempted to play through the knee issue in Week 1 but was clearly bothered by the balky knee. He underwent a knee scope shortly after the Rams’ opener and was placed on injured reserve. It was initially expected to be closer to a four-week absence for the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Now he’ll miss a bit longer than that, and Rapoport added that the team will be cautious with his return, so he could be sidelined beyond even the six-week timeline.

Garrett will miss at least four games after going on injured reserve. The All-Pro pass-rusher is set to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his knee after struggling to play through the injury in Week 1. Garrett’s absence is a massive blow to the Rams’ defense, but they should have enough players in place to get through what they hope is a short time away.

According to Pelissero, Garrett had been dealing with lower leg pain and “wasn’t himself” in Week 1 against the 49ers. Garrett was routinely taken off the field and failed to record a single stat in the contest. Per Pelissero, the team hopes he will miss only a minimum of four weeks while on injured reserve. The impending return of Aaron Donald should help ease the loss of Garrett, but this is undoubtedly a massive blow to the Rams’ defense.

Coming off an underwhelming debut in which he failed to even record a tackle in Week 1’s loss against the 49ers, Garrett said he was “the worst version” of himself in Thursday’s game. The star pass rusher was dealing with a knee injury in the days leading up to the game, but was ultimately removed from the injury report on Wednesday. Speaking after the game, he said his knee didn’t feel 100 percent, but Garrett still managed to play on 40 snaps, per PFF. Unfortunately, he generated only three pressures and failed to get a hit on the quarterback. Hopefully, some extended time off before next Monday’s game against the Giants will be enough for Garrett to get right in the Rams’ official 2026 home debut.

As expected, Garrett gets in a full practice ahead of the Rams’ Week 1 Australia matchup against the 49ers. He did not practice Tuesday but it was likely a load management day for the star pass-rusher’s knee. Expect more of these kinds of practice weeks from Garrett moving forward; he is good to go for Week 1.

Garrett was a non-participant in practice Tuesday, but it looks to be a load management day with other Rams players listed as DNP due to rest and head coach Sean McVay saying Tuesday he expects Garrett to play Week 1. Though the team will be without Aaron Donald for opening day, the Rams are still expecting to have Garrett good to go against the 49ers.

Heavily load-managed in the offseason, Garrett will enter his age-31 season fresh and ready to try to top last year’s 23-sack season in a new defense. We won’t be surprised if Garrett continues to be listed on the injury report going forward, but if he’s going to play through this there’s probably no need to be concerned about the report unless new concerns arise.

Garrett, 30, has been sidelined by swelling in his knee since late July. His return to practice puts him on track to play in Week 1 against the 49ers on Thursday. Donald’s status is tougher to decipher. The fact that he is practicing is a great sign, but the Rams could still slow-play his return to action. Rams coach Sean McVay said he will provide an update on their Week 1 statuses on Tuesday. Stay tuned.

Garrett continues to not practice while experiencing swelling in his knee. It sounds like this is more maintenance than anything else, as the Rams want the start pass-rusher to be ready to roll and at his best for the opener against the 49ers next week in Australia. Still, it’s something to keep an eye on.

Checking in on the star pass-rusher heading into the third preseason week, Garrett (knee) still has not practiced since early August. He is experiencing swelling in his knee and head coach Sean McVay continues to downplay his absence. It’s possible this is just veteran load management; we still expect Garrett to be ready for Week 1, though his absence is becoming more and more notable as the season inches closer.