Major blow for LA Rams as new injury timeline emerges for $208M star man Myles Garrett after knee surgery
The Los Angeles Rams have suffered a major setback with superstar pass rusher Myles Garrett facing a longer layoff than initially anticipated following knee surgery.
Garrett, who arrived in Los Angeles via a blockbuster offseason trade from Cleveland on a restructured five-year, $208 million pact, has been handed a roughly six-week recovery timeline, sources told NFL Network.
The two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year was placed on injured reserve earlier this month after hobbling through the Rams’ season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia.
While Garrett is officially eligible to return from injured reserve after four games – targeted for the Week 6 clash against the Arizona Cardinals on October 18 – his revised six-week rehabilitation schedule pushes that date back considerably.
The extended recovery means the 30-year-old could also miss upcoming matchups against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7 and the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 8.
A Week 9 showdown against the Washington Commanders on November 8 has now emerged as a more realistic target date for his return, potentially sidelining the star pass rusher until mid-season.
The Los Angeles Rams have suffered a major setback with superstar pass rusher Myles Garrett facing a longer layoff than initially anticipated following knee surgery
Garrett made little impact in his Rams debut against the 49ers in Melbourne, Australia
Garrett underwent arthroscopic surgery to clean out his knee in a bid to relieve discomfort and eradicate swelling that plagued him throughout training camp.
He is reportedly determined to beat the six-week estimate, though team officials intend to take an ultra-cautious approach with their marquee defensive investment.
After the 27-7 loss in Australia, Garrett acknowledged he was not 100 percent healthy and the Rams will now take action as they take a long-term view on the season.
‘This was the worst version of myself that I’ve put out there, and I’ve got to be better,’ Garrett said.
‘I’ve got to find a way to recover and get back to the player I know I can be and I’ve shown that I’ve been before.’
‘I wasn’t the player that I wanted to be, and I feel like I wasn’t the player I’ve been before when I’ve stepped onto that field,’ Garrett added. ‘I’ve got to do what I can to get back to that.’
Garrett’s issue first cropped up during training camp, with Sean McVay downplaying the severity of the issue in early August when he sat out three straight practices. He missed just two games in his last five seasons in Cleveland.
‘He has a little soreness in his lower half, but nothing to worry about,’ McVay said at the time.
The extended recovery means the 30-year-old could also miss upcoming matchups against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7 and the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 8
‘So we’re erring on the side of being smart with him. (Senior Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance) Reggie (Scott) and those guys do such a great job, and he is as tough as it gets. And so we want to make sure that he feels as good as possible.
‘And so I think, as you know, guys that have played a lot of football, we’ve got a lot of opportunities to be able to get better, but we also want to make sure that we’re getting an understanding of how to work best with him, and he’s been outstanding.
‘But there was a little bit of soreness, and we said, ‘Let’s err on the side of caution,’ and then we’ll see.
‘We’ll see what it looks like after the day off. ‘I don’t want to put the cart before the horse, but I would expect him to be ready to go in the next block.’
