The Los Angeles Rams are going to have to wait a little longer for the cavalry to arrive. 

Despite growing optimism last week that superstar defensive end Myles Garrett was nearing a return, Rams head coach Sean McVay poured cold water on those expectations Wednesday, announcing that neither Garrett nor tight end Terrance Ferguson will have their 21-day practice windows opened this week. 

That means both players will remain on injured reserve for Sunday’s Week 8 showdown against the Los Angeles Chargers, leaving a Rams team already battered by injuries without two potential reinforcements that could have helped on Sunday. 

The news comes less than a week after NFL insider Ian Rapoport  suggested Garrett could return to practice this week. Those expectations now appear premature.

McVay made it clear Wednesday that the Rams aren’t rushing the process, regardless of what reports have been circulating.

“So whatever reports are out there, make sure they’re accurate,” McVay said.

Garrett has been spotted roaming the sidelines during recent Rams home games, but watching from the sidelines and lining up opposite opposing quarterbacks are two entirely different things. 

The former NFL Defensive Player of the Year has been sidelined since the Rams returned from their season-opening trip to Australia, when the team placed him on injured reserve following arthroscopic knee surgery.

Under NFL rules, players placed on injured reserve must miss at least four games before becoming eligible to return. Garrett satisfied that requirement following the Rams’ Week 5 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, but Los Angeles has yet to open his practice window.

Once that 21-day window begins, the Rams must either activate Garrett to their 53-man roster or leave him on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.

With McVay ruling out a practice return this week, Garrett’s earliest possible game appearance is now Week 9 against the Washington Commanders in the nation’s capital.

There is, however, encouraging news beneath the disappointment.

McVay indicated Garrett remains on track in his recovery and continues attacking rehabilitation with the same relentless mentality that made him one of football’s most feared pass rushers.

Garrett’s girlfriend, Olympic snowboarding champion Chloe Kim, echoed that optimism during media interviews Wednesday, saying both athletes are working through their respective rehabilitation processes and Garrett is doing everything possible to get back on the field.

“We don’t talk too much about our jobs per se, and our sports. I think that’s like a really fun thing about our relationship,” Kim said. “But the thing about Myles and everyone who knows him is this he is such a hard worker and he is doing everything he can to get back out there. Doing everything he can to get back stronger and he’s well on his way. The thing about that man is he is stubborn in the best ways, and no injury is going to hold him back.”

For the Rams, patience might be medically prudent, but it won’t make life any easier on Sundays.

Los Angeles entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations, only to watch injuries steadily strip away important pieces of its roster, as the team got out to a 2-4 start to the season. Garrett was supposed to be a centerpiece of a revamped defense capable of terrorizing opposing quarterbacks.

Instead, the Rams are still waiting to unleash him.

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