Over the past few weeks, there has been growing anticipation about when the Los Angeles Rams could open the practice window for edge rusher Myles Garrett. On Monday, head coach Sean McVay said that the team will open Garrett’s practice window ahead of Week 9 against the Washington Commanders. 

It was reported on Sunday by NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport that the expectation was that the Rams would open up his practice window. However, given that Rapoport had reported the same expectation the week prior and the uncertainty surrounding Garrett, it still wasn’t a guarantee. With that said, Garrett is set to practice this week for the first time since before Week 1. 

While Garrett will practice this week, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he will play against the Commanders. Prior to activating a player off of injured reserve, a team has the ability to open a 21-day practice window.This allows the coaches and medical staff a three-week window to test the player’s health, conditioning, and readiness without rushing them onto the field or counting them against the active roster.

By activating Garrett’s window now, the Rams would have through their bye week to activate him. He could certainly return over the next two weeks, but the Rams would have to activate him prior to their game against the Green Bay Packers. It shouldn’t come as a surprise at this point, but whatever the Rams do, they will err on the side of caution with Garrett. 

Garrett has been on injured reserve since playing against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1. After dealing with some knee soreness during training camp, Garrett left the Melbourne Cricket Ground saying that he didn’t feel like himself. He then underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on September 13 and has been on injured reserve ever since. 

McVay also stated that the Rams were likely to open tight end Terrance Ferguson’s practice window, but that decision was less certain. The team will meet with the training staff to see how he’s doing before making a final decision on that front. Ferguson has been out since Week 3 with a medial ankle sprain. 

While the Rams got good news on Garrett and Ferguson, they will be monitoring several players throughout the week. Jaylen Watson aggravated his shoulder that he injured a few weeks ago. Additionally, Trent McDuffie left Sunday’s game with a back injury and will be taking things one day at a time. Linebacker Grant Stuard hurt his hamstring during pregame warmups and is considered week-to-week.

The big loss for the Rams will be running back Dean Connors. Connors broke his hand and will require surgery. It’s likely that Connors ends up on injured reserve, which would put him out for the season. Connors had been a key special teams contributor this season and the team will now likely turn to Jordan Waters. 

As the Rams get closer to their bye week, they are finally getting healthier at a critical point in the season. After months of uncertainty with Garrett, the Rams finally have some answers as he nears a return. With the Rams looking to build momentum, getting Garrett and Ferguson back over the next few weeks could provide a significant boost on both sides of the ball.