The Los Angeles Rams have had far from an ideal start to the 2026 season. They lost their Week 1 game to the San Francisco 49ers in blowout fashion, then lost Myles Garrett for at least four weeks as he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. Head coach Sean McVay has yet to put any timelines beyond the four weeks of injured reserve for Garrett.
Garrett was the Rams’ premier offseason acquisition. He is, unquestionably, the best edge rusher in the sport today and is making a case to be one of the greatest defensive players of all time. Losing him for four weeks — even if it is Week 2-5 — is not an easy thing to overcome. However, McVay is already raving about the progress he’s making, likening him to Wolverine, via Stu Jackson of The Rams:
“He’s feeling good,” McVay said. “… He had crutches yesterday, and then he was walking without crutches today, so he’s like Wolverine, healing fast. I’m reluctant to put a timeline on it. We’ve kind of talked about it, but we know that he’s going to miss those four weeks at a minimum, and we’re not going to rush him back. We want to make sure that he’s feeling good, (that) he’s able to get out on the practice field and do all the things that are necessary for him to perform at a level that he’s been accustomed to. And so that’ll be something that I’ll kind of keep you guys posted as we have updates as we go.”
The earliest that Garrett can return is their Week 6 game against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 18. That Cardinals game, though, is at the beginning of a stretch of very winnable games against the Las Vegas Raiders (Week 7), L.A. Chargers (Week 8), Washington Commanders (Week 9) and Cardinals again in Week 10.
Any of these games would be a good opportunity to bring Garrett back without risking too much if they want to hold him out an extra week or two. All of that depends, of course, on how he heals in the next four weeks. Wolverine, according to McVay, is off to a fantastic start.
Myles Garrett admits knee wasn’t 100% in debut
Many have rightfully wondered why Garrett is undergoing a knee procedure after Week 1 when he went into camp with the same knee injury.
The superstar admitted he wasn’t his best self, but tried to push through. And after the results of the season opener, Garrett and the Rams decided to address things now before they get any worse.
