Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay would not put a timeline on when outside linebacker Myles Garrett could return to action after knee surgery Monday.
Following an underwhelming debut with the Rams on Thursday, Garrett was placed on injured reserve Sunday and will miss a minimum of four games. His actual downtime is yet to be determined.
“I don’t really (have a timeline) yet,” McVay told reporters Monday. “It’s all contingent upon (surgery). You feel good about it. But I think it’d be unfair to him or really just without having the totality of all the information, to put any sort of timeline on it. We know that he’ll be available in four weeks potentially, so we’ll just take that a day at a time.”
Garrett, who broke the NFL single-season sack record last season with 23, was sent to the Rams in a blockbuster June trade for three draft picks — including a 2027 first-round selection — and edge rusher Jared Verse, a Pro Bowl selection in each of his first two seasons.
Garrett, 30, battled through his knee injury throughout training camp. After he didn’t record a sack or tackle in the Rams’ season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, McVay said he knew Garrett was going to need to go to IR.
“We thought it was something that we’d be able to kinda manage,” McVay said. “That wasn’t necessarily the case. So having that evidence and being able to say, ‘What’s the next right thing?’ It was right after the game, just in terms of listening to how he felt, how he was able to impact the game and even just how limited we had to be with him. Obviously, we thought we were doing the right thing, but in hindsight, you’ll always be able to learn from it.”
Garrett is the first player in NFL history (since sacks started being recorded in 1982) to record at least 12 sacks in six straight seasons (2020-25). He is third among active players in career sacks (125.5) behind Von Miller (138.5) and Cameron Jordan (132).
One potential way for Los Angeles to fill the void on the defensive line would be the return of defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who came out of retirement ahead of this season but did not dress in Week 1. Donald’s status for Week 2 on Monday night against the New York Giants remains uncertain as he awaits his first game since the end of the 2023 season.
“We haven’t decided that yet,” McVay said. “He’s gonna continue to work his process, and we’ll see what it looks like.”
