Myles Garrett returned to practice this week. That opened the door to a Week 9 return, and he is indeed on track to offer a needed boost to the Rams’ defense.
Garrett is on track to be activated from injured reserve in time for Los Angeles’ next game, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport report. He would be available against the Commanders on Sunday in that event. Sean McVay said (via ESPN.com’s Sarah Barshop) he expects Garrett back Sunday.
Garrett has yet to play since his Week 1 Rams debut, one which fell short of expectations and was followed by arthroscopic knee surgery. Bringing the blockbuster trade acquisition back into the fold will use up one of the team’s seven remaining IR activations.
This will be the Rams’ first opportunity to see Garrett and Aaron Donald on the field together. Donald returned to the Rams in part because of the team’s Garrett acquisition, but the recently unretired interior D-line legend was still reacclimating when the team made its Australia trip. Garrett was far from 100% in that game. The Rams should have a clearer picture of what a Donald-Garrett tandem can provide this week, as the latter is coming off IR days after returning to practice.
Garrett’s return will, however, come nearly a month after he was first eligible to come back. The Rams could have activated Garrett for Week 6, but the two-time Defensive Player of the Year was far from ready at that point. Los Angeles, which has battled major injuries all season, enters Week 9 at 4-4 and in a fight for a mere wild-card berth. Thanks to its Garrett, Donald and Trent McDuffie moves this offseason, the Rams entered the season as the clear Super Bowl LXI favorite. To even have a chance at a playoff berth, the Rams will need to have a far better second half compared to an uneven start to the season.
If Garrett is truly back healthy, L.A. will have a much better shot at sustaining success. Setting the NFL’s single-season sack record (with 23) despite playing on a 5-12 Browns team last season, Garrett has earned an All-Pro nod in each of the eight seasons he has finished since 2018. The future Hall of Famer infiltrated J.J. Watt’s stranglehold atop the tackle for loss hierarchy by registering 33 — second-most in a season in the TFL era (1999-present) — after signing a four-year, $160MM extension.
The Rams traded for this contract in June, sending the Browns first-, second- and third-round picks — along with promising young edge rusher Jared Verse — to continue their defensive reload. L.A. did not extend Garrett but did rework his contract. The 30-year-old EDGE dynamo is still signed through 2030, but with the position’s market now at $50MM per year (Will Anderson Jr.) and featuring a few other deals (for Micah Parsons, Aidan Hutchinson and T.J. Watt) in between Garrett and the field, the second half of this season could certainly drive a push for another Rams megadeal come 2027.
While Donald may be back for one more season, the Rams have bigger plans for Garrett. The team’s reloaded defense will move closer to full strength Sunday, but the group will not have one of its additions the rest of the way. Jaylen Watson will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. Garrett’s presence will certainly help the Rams’ secondary in coverage, and it will be fascinating to see how teams handle two all-time great pass rushers playing on the same D-line.
The Rams also expect to have Terrance Ferguson in Week 9. Ferguson will join Garrett in coming off IR, per McVay. The second-year tight end has been out since aggravating an ankle injury in Week 3. He returned to practice this week and is in line to restore the Rams’ five-tight end armada.
The Garrett and Ferguson activations will leave the Rams with five moves left. Two of those will need to be saved for Davante Adams and Kobie Turner, making it interesting if the team will choose to activate special-teamer Ronnie Rivers — who also returned to practice this week — or opt to leave some room for other injuries that might change the team’s IR-return calculous.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
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