09/14/26 01:51:00
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09/14 13:50 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 he couldn't go on without an operation. The Rams could get some
help soon on the defensive line, though it's not clear yet when Aaron Donald
will be ready to play.
"We had been aware of this, thought it (Garrett's knee) 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 much of training camp because of what had been described as
swelling in his knee, but McVay has not elaborated on the exact nature of the
injury. 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.
Garrett provided no indication he was physically compromised prior to the game,
terming himself as "ready" last Tuesday. "I think I can go out there and do
what I know I can do," he said.
During that news conference, Garrett embraced the high expectations that came
with him joining the Rams, stating his goals for this season were to win the
Super Bowl and repeat as AP Defensive Player of the Year.
It was the addition of Garrett that accelerated the idea of the Rams as a super
team, in part because his presence helped lure Donald out of retirement last
month.
McVay said Garrett's absence would not have any impact on when the standout
defensive tackle will return to the field.
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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