The Rams traded for Myles Garrett to transform a defense. Two games in, he is having knee surgery instead.
Los Angeles officially placed Garrett on injured reserve on Thursday. Head coach Sean McVay confirmed the outside linebacker would undergo the procedure and miss a minimum of four games. His earliest possible return is Week 6, when the Rams host the Cardinals.
He Was Not Right Before The Surgery
Garrett was ineffective in the season opener, a loss to the 49ers, and the tape now has an explanation attached to it. A knee that requires surgery in mid-September was not a knee that was holding up in Week 1.
That is the part Rams fans should find mildly encouraging. A healthy Garrett is one of the three best defensive players alive. A Garrett playing through a knee that needed a scope is a different and much worse player, and that is what Los Angeles has been watching.
The Rams Are Thin Everywhere Right Now
Garrett is not the only problem. McVay’s injury report this week also covered safety Kam Curl, inside linebacker Nate Landman, tight end Davis Allen and inside linebacker Omar Speights.
A defense missing its best pass rusher, a starting safety and two inside linebackers is not a defense that gets to scheme its way out of anything. Los Angeles will have to survive on a four-game stretch with the personnel it has rather than the one it built.
Why Four Games Is Actually The Good Outcome
Injured reserve carries a four-game minimum, which sounds punitive until you consider the alternatives for a knee issue. Structural damage requiring reconstruction would have ended the season. A scope with a four-to-six week window is close to the mildest version of this news.
There is also a strategic argument for it. Garrett is 30 and the Rams did not acquire him to grind through September at 70 percent. Fixing the knee now and having him fresh for the back half and a playoff run is the correct sequencing, even if it costs games in the short term.
The Cost Of Waiting
Los Angeles still has to win football games in the meantime. The NFC is not handing out mulligans, and a slow start compounds quickly when the schedule tightens.
The Cardinals game in Week 6 is circled for a reason. Arizona gets to face this defense without its best player and then gets the rematch problem later. Division opponents are already adjusting their plans around a four-week window where the Rams cannot rush the passer at full strength.
Bottom Line
This is bad news delivered in the best available form. Garrett gets fixed, the Rams get him back before the season is decided, and the two ugly games he already played now make more sense than they did on Monday.
Surviving until Week 6 is the whole assignment.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.