Just what Myles Garrett needed: More surgery because of his knee

M yles Garrett ’s first game with the Los Angeles Rams was alarming enough on its own. Now, the explanation behind it has become a much bigger concern.

Garrett is reportedly set to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery and will be placed on injured reserve, according to NFL Network, sidelining him for at least four weeks after a disappointing debut against the San Francisco 49ers .

The timing is brutal for a Rams team that made one of the biggest moves of the offseason to acquire Garrett from the Cleveland Browns .

He played in Los Angeles’ 27-7 Week 1 loss in Australia, but looked nothing like the player who set an NFL single-season record with 23 sacks in 2025.

Garrett finished without a sack or tackle and acknowledged afterward that something was clearly wrong.

“This was the worst version of myself that I've put out there,” Garrett said. “And I've got to be better. I've got to find a way to recover and get back to the player I know I can be and I've shown that I've been before.”

Already fighting through the knee issue

The surgery report doesn't come completely out of nowhere. Garrett missed time during training camp because of a left knee problem, but recovered enough to suit up for the opener.

His comments after the game suggested he was still managing the injury rather than playing freely.

“I was a little bit more focused on myself and trying to stay healthy than what they were doing,” Garrett said.

That admission now carries more weight. The Rams reportedly hope Garrett can return once the minimum four-week injured reserve period is complete, but arthroscopic surgery adds uncertainty to that timetable.

Los Angeles will want to avoid turning an early setback into a longer-term issue by rushing him back before the knee is fully ready.

Justifying a huge offseason bet

The stakes are higher because of what Garrett cost after Los Angeles gave up Jared Verse and multiple draft picks to acquire him.

They were betting that one of the league’s premier pass rushers could help push the Rams into serious Super Bowl contention.

Garrett was also one of the major reasons expectations around the defense soared entering the season.

One bad game would normally be easy to dismiss for a player with his résumé. A bad game immediately followed by surgery is different.

The Rams now have to survive at least a month without the centerpiece of their defensive overhaul, while hoping Garrett can return looking more like the dominant player they traded for and less like the version that struggled in Week 1.

There's still plenty of season left. But Los Angeles’ margin for error has already become thinner than anyone expected.