With every passing week, the uncertainty around the Los Angeles Rams and edge rusher Myles Garrett continues to grow. Despite NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reporting last week that the expectation was for Garrett to return to practice this week, the Rams will not be activating his 21-day practice window. 

Myles Garrett's Injury Issues Date Back to Rams Training Camp

Ever since the Rams traded for Garrett, something hasn’t been right. Garrett first missed practice at the beginning of training camp with what was described as lower-body soreness. He missed three straight practices in early August. While he was in and out of practice for a few weeks, Garrett missed the last few weeks of training camp entirely and didn’t return until Week 1.

Garrett played in Week 1, but said after the game that he didn’t feel like himself. He was then placed on injured reserve after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery. Following the surgery, many reported a six-week timeline, calling that a worst-case scenario, and that Garrett was determined to beat that timeline. 

With Garrett not returning to practice this week, his timeline continues to get extended. We are now 6.5 weeks post-surgery and Sunday will be the seventh consecutive game that Garrett has missed. Without Garrett, the Rams rank 18th in pressure rate on defense and 28th in sack rate. That’s down from being second in pressure rate and ninth in sack rate last season. 

Since the beginning, the Rams have lacked transparency when it came to Garrett. They've never explained what caused Garrett’s knee injury or even what the specific injury was. Garrett has only been described as having lower-body soreness and knee swelling. 

The entire situation has been murky from the jump and the Rams haven’t helped at all by providing any sort of clarity. For much of the offseason, McVay said that the team was simply erring on the side of caution. With Garrett set to miss Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Garrett will not have played a healthy snap for the Rams as we get into November. 

When Will Myles Garrett Return for the Rams?

At this point, it’s worth wondering when the Rams will see Garrett back on the field. The Rams are taking it week-by-week, but will it be next week on the road against the Washington Commanders? Does he come back after the bye week? Will Garrett play again in 2026?

Right now, there is no clear answer. The earliest Garrett could return is Week 9 against the Commanders, but with the Rams not even ready to open his practice window, a return following the Week 11 bye may be more realistic.

For the most part, this has been mismanagement from the Rams’ training staff and has only been emphasized by the lack of transparency. While the team and Garrett likely wanted to avoid surgery, it can be argued that Garrett should have gotten the surgery back in August. It’s also worth wondering whether the Rams did their due diligence, considering that Garrett’s knee injury popped up all the way back in training camp. 

Those are all fair questions with Garrett set to be out another week and the continued lack of transparency. He’s spent almost half the season on injured reserve with no signs of coming off of it anytime soon. 

Rams Still Waiting for a Return on Their Myles Garrett Investment

The Rams traded a promising young edge rusher and two first-round picks for Garrett, and he hasn’t played a healthy snap for the team. While Jared Verse doesn’t have a sack yet this season, he does have a 10.1 percent pressure rate, which is higher than both Josaiah Stewart and Wesley Bailey. It’s also worth noting that Verse hasn’t been a good fit and has had to adjust to the Browns’ 4-3 defense. 

When the Rams traded for Garrett, the expectation was that he would be the missing piece on a Super Bowl-caliber roster. Instead, the Rams are heading into Week 8 with more questions than answers. The elite edge rusher that they traded for hasn’t played since Week 1, and even then he wasn’t healthy. 

Until Garrett returns to practice, there’s no reason to believe his return is imminent or that he returns before the bye week. The question isn’t just when Garrett will play for the Rams, but whether they will ever get the player they traded for and the impact they expected from their biggest offseason acquisition. That's a concerning position for the Rams to be in, especially considering what they gave up to acquire him.