Rams defensive end Myles Garrett will return to practice on Wednesday after missing the past seven games following knee surgery, head coach Sean McVay said on Monday.
McVay didn’t put a timeline on when Garrett would return to game action. Once the team opens his practice window on Wednesday, it would have 21 days to return him to the active roster from injured reserve, or he will return to IR for the rest of the season.
“I want to be careful to even set any sort of expectations,” McVay said. “I think just taking it a day at a time is going to be the way that we can approach it. I think that’s the right thing for him and really just to see how he responds. But I think it’s a real positive that we’re starting his clock.”
The Rams traded edge rusher Jared Verse, their 2027 first-round draft pick and two other draft picks for Garrett in June. The two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year was viewed as the type of closer the Rams’ defense lacked during last year’s run to the NFC championship game. His arrival helped lure Rams legend Aaron Donald out of his two-year retirement for the opportunity to play alongside Garrett on the defensive line.
But Donald and Garrett have yet to suit up together outside of one week of practice. Donald did not play in the season opener in Australia, and in that game Garrett realized that the knee injury he had been managing since training camp was impacting his typical explosiveness in game action. That’s when Garrett and the Rams opted for the surgery that landed him on injured reserve.
While Garrett has been rehabbing from the surgery, he has also been present in team meeting rooms with his new teammates.
“He’s leading those guys,” defensive coordinator Chris Shula said last month. “He’s bonding with the outside ’backers. I think he’s having those guys over and all that type of stuff. He’s present, around all the time.”
McVay also said there’s a “good chance” that the Rams start tight end Terrance Ferguson’s practice window on Wednesday, too. Ferguson sprained his ankle in Week 3 and has been on injured reserve since.
“Looking more likely than not that we will but want to see how he’s feeling,” McVay said.
INJURY REPORT
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford left the team’s locker room following Sunday’s victory over the Chargers with a large bag of ice wrapped around his right elbow, but McVay said it wasn’t something that had been brought to his attention.
“He’s had some soreness there,” McVay said. “I think he’d be better equipped once you guys talk to him to answer that. I can’t attest to something that I’m not necessarily aware of.”
Cornerback Jaylin Watson aggravated his right shoulder, which he dislocated earlier this season, in Sunday’s win. McVay said the corner is day-to-day as the Rams (4-4) prepare for this weekend’s game against the Washington Commanders (2-4-1).
“Had some good strength, feeling good and optimistic but we’ll kind of his take his status a day at a time,” McVay said.
Cornerback Trent McDuffie took a knee to the back that knocked him out of Sunday’s game. But McVay said he reported to the team facility and felt better on Monday than the team expected.
“Both those guys are so damn tough,” McVay said. “We’ll just kind of monitor him as the week goes as well.”
Tight end Colby Parkinson (ribs) is making progress in his recovery after missing Week 8, McVay said.
Special teams ace Grant Stuart injured his hamstring during pregame warmups Sunday, which limited him to serving as personal protector on the punt team. He will be monitored this week, McVay said.
Running back Dean Connors broke his hand and needed surgery on Monday. He is an injured reserve candidate, McVay said, but the team wants to explore the roster implications of that decision first.
Left guard Steve Avila felt a pull in his hamstring against the Chargers, but it is not something that is expected to impact his availability against the Commanders, McVay said.