What History Says About Rams’ Myles Garrett and His Return Timeline

Throughout much of the last month and a half, the Los Angeles Rams have been managing the knee of edge rusher Myles Garrett. Following the team’s Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers and Garrett saying he was feeling pain and couldn’t perform to his standard, the team opted to place him on injured reserve.

Earlier this week, Garrett had arthroscopic knee surgery and is now set to miss at least the next four weeks.

“It went well,” said head coach Sean McVay. “He's feeling good. You already see he had crutches yesterday, and then he was walking without crutches today. He's like Wolverine, healing fast.”

The Rams may seem optimistic about Garrett’s knee and his recovery timeline, but they also haven’t necessarily been completely transparent about the severity of it since the get-go. While Garrett missed practice, McVay continued to say that they were simply erring on the side of caution throughout training camp.

Rams Remain Cautious With Myles Garrett’s Knee

The two sides may have initially tried to avoid surgery, but it’s fair to wonder if Garrett would be healthy and playing had he simply gotten the surgery earlier in the offseason. Because arthroscopic knee procedures can have relatively short recovery timelines, players tend to get them done during the offseason so they only have to miss part of OTAs or training camp.

Placing Garrett on injured reserve simply means that he’ll miss the next four weeks, not that he’s only going to miss four weeks. It’s possible that Garrett is out for the next two months. Depending on where the Rams sit, they could simply opt to hold him out until after their Week 11 bye.

“I'm reluctant to put a timeline on it,” said McVay. “We've talked about it. 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, he's able to get out on the practice field, do all the things that are necessary for him to perform at a level that he’s been accustomed to.”

There haven’t been any details released on Garrett other than that he had arthroscopic knee surgery. It isn’t clear whether that was to repair a meniscus injury or address another issue caused by wear and tear.

Past NFL Knee Surgeries Provide a Potential Timeline

In 2018, Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon had arthroscopic knee surgery to remove a small particle in his knee that was dislodged. Mixon missed just two weeks and wasn’t placed on injured reserve.

Another close comparison to Garrett’s case is Robert Quinn in 2022. Quinn had an in-season arthroscopic knee surgery and missed four games, returning in time for the Philadelphia Eagles’ playoff run. While it was back in 2011, Osi Umenyiora had arthroscopic knee surgery in mid-August during the offseason and still missed the first three games of the season.

Given that Garrett has been placed on injured reserve,the Rams are likely looking at that four-to-six-week timeline. At minimum, Garrett could return for the team’s Week 6 game against the Arizona Cardinals. If Garrett is out six weeks, he could be back for Week 8 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Rams Won’t Rush Myles Garrett Back

It’s possible that Garrett could return as soon as he’s eligible to come off injured reserve. Still, that would mean he would miss one of the more grueling parts of the Rams’ schedule. The lack of details surrounding exactly what was done to Garrett’s knee also makes it difficult to project when he might return. Until then, the Rams will be relying on Josaiah Stewart to fill the gap.

Over the last six weeks, the Rams have been cautious with Garrett’s knee. Given the investment in him, that approach likely won’t change following his surgery. The Rams will only put him back on the field when he feels ready. While he could return by Week 6, the priority will be to make sure Garrett is healthy enough to perform at the level the Rams expect from him.

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