09/14/26 12:23:00
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09/14 12:21 CDT Sean McVay says Rams' season opener made it clear Myles Garrett
needed knee surgery
Sean McVay says Rams' season opener made it clear Myles Garrett needed knee
surgery
By DAN GREENSPAN
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- After spending time during training camp trying to manage
Myles Garrett's knee injury, it was the Los Angeles Rams' dismal season-opening
loss to the San Francisco 49ers that made it evident to everyone that the star
defensive end needed surgery.
Garrett did not record a tackle or sack while playing 61.5% of the defensive
snaps in the Rams' 27-7 defeat in Melbourne, Australia. Coach Sean McVay said
Monday that conversations with Garrett immediately after the game last Thursday
made it clear a different approach would be needed, leading to the decision
that Garrett needed to be operated on.
"We had been aware of this, thought it was something he would be able to work
through," McVay said. "Obviously, being out there and playing in a real game,
you learn like, ?Hey, maybe that's not the case. So let's change course with
that.'"
McVay did not have an updated timeline for Garrett's recovery beyond the
four-game minimum that comes with being placed on injured reserve, pending the
results of the procedure.
Garrett missed most of training camp because of swelling in his knee. The Rams
acquired the reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year from the Cleveland Browns
in a blockbuster trade for pass rusher Jared Verse and three draft picks in
June knowing that Garrett's workload had been carefully managed in recent
seasons. That was acceptable to McVay, who has frequently limited practice time
for veteran players to maximize their game-day performance.
"The reality is our job is to put our players and our team in positions to have
successful outcomes. Thought we would take an approach where he'd be feeling
good enough to go contribute positive change and be the player that he's
capable of. That wasn't the case, and so the next right thing for us is to be
able to get this thing fixed," McVay said.
McVay said Garrett's absence would not have any impact on when defensive tackle
Aaron Donald will return to the field after ending his retirement last month.
Donald, a three-time AP Defensive Player of the year, did not travel with the
team to Australia as he works his way back into playing shape following two
seasons out of football. McVay said it was too early to know if Donald would
play in the Rams' home opener against the New York Giants next Monday.
"He's going to continue to work his process, and we'll see what that looks
like," McVay said.
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