Sunday Morning Rams Notebook: New Details Emerge on Myles Garrett, Aaron Donald Injuries

Injuries have been a common theme throughout the first month of the season for the Los Angeles Rams. Following their Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Myles Garrett was placed on injured reserve. Additionally, wide receiver Puka Nacua injured his hip and missed the next two games. On Sunday, Aaron Donald hurt his back and is set to miss Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

There are a lot of questions when it comes to the injuries to those three players. However, we got some clarity this week with Nacua set to return. Still, Donald’s injury popped out of nowhere and there is still no clear timeline on Garrett. Let’s get into this week’s Rams game day notebook.

Rams Taking Long-Term Approach With Aaron Donald

Aaron Donald was a surprise addition to the injury report this week with what the team described as a back injury. The team didn’t seem too concerned when discussing it, but Donald didn’t practice this week and will miss Sunday’s game against the Eagles. NFL Media’s Ian Rapaport shed some light on Donald’s injury on Friday.

“My understanding is it is a relatively minor back injury for Aaron Donald,” said Rapoport. “I wouldn’t call it precautionary because it’s a real thing, but really what the team wants to do is sit him out now with the hopes of healing this for the long term.”

From The Insiders on @nflnetwork: #Rams DT Aaron Donald is out on Sunday with a minor back injury. pic.twitter.com/xQTWJFNtUr
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 2, 2026

Rapoport added that Donald is protected in his contract. While some players don’t get paid if they are on the 46-man roster, Donald will still get his $660k game check as his is tied to the 53-man roster rather than the 46-man roster.

The Rams understand that it's more important to have Donald available and healthy in December and January than October. Still, Donald will be a player to watch next week as the Rams get ready to host Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium.

Rams Could Make Another Change on Special Teams

Following Bubba Ventrone’s press conference on Thursday, there was a lot of criticism of how the Rams were handling their special teams. Ventrone had noted that the team wasn’t considering a change at punt returner, despite Xavier Smith struggling.

While there was so much focus on Ventrone’s first comment, many missed when he also called Smith inconsistent and said that he needed to improve in areas, specifically when tracking the ball. The next morning, Smith was cut.

At the very least, it’s a sign that the Rams acknowledged that a change was needed on the special teams unit, and they may not be done. Ventrone also noted that Ethan Evans has been inconsistent and they need more consistency from the punter.

“We need to get more consistency from the punter,” said Ventrone. “Ethan can do a better job being able to elevate the ball and match hang times and distance at a greater rate. We have to do a better job in his position.”

The Rams do have Jack Bouwmeester on the practice squad if needed, but Evans’ seat might be getting a little warm.If Ventrone doesn’t start to see some improvement and consistency, don’t be surprised if there’s a change.

Rams Remain Hopeful for Early Myles Garrett Return

For the past two weeks, the Rams have been without edge rusher Myles Garrett. However, with two games gone, there are just two more weeks until Garrett is eligible to return and have his 21-day practice window opened.

Last week, it was reported by Rapoport that Garrett had been given a six-week timeline for his return as he recovers from knee surgery. McVay hasn’t placed a timeline on Garrett’s return, but did comment on his rehab this week.

“He physically looks good,” said McVay. “It's been great having him in and out of a lot of the different meetings while he's attacking his rehab. He’s making good progress, but as far as a specific timeline, not ready to be able to give you guys that.”

While Rapoport reported a six-week timeline for Garrett, The Athletic’s Jonathan Jones added on Saturday that the six-week timeline would be a worst-case scenario. According to Jones, the team remains hopeful that he can return in Week 6 against the Arizona Cardinals, but a second source believes that Garrett could return the following week against the Las Vegas Raiders.

There’s No Conspiracy Behind Puka Nacua’s Injury

There were a couple of different conspiracies floating around with Puka Nacua missing the last two games with a hip/groin injury. There was some belief that Nacua had been quietly suspended by the NFL, which is why his injury came on so suddenly and he missed exactly two games. Additionally, There was some thought that Nacua was being extremely cautious because of his contract situation.

Both theories are unequivocally false. McVay addressed the rumors this week on ESPNLA and said, “Yeah, it’s not true…He’s been working, chomping at the bit to get back out there with his teammates this week.”

As far as the NFL quietly suspending Nacua, that wasn’t the case either. Earlier this offseason, there was some speculation that Nacua could be suspended by the NFL following an incident in which he allegedly bit a woman’s shoulder on New Year’s Eve. The civil case got pushed to 2028 and the NFL hasn’t intervened.

According to Jones, a highly placed source said that if the league wanted to punish Nacua, it would do so publicly. Jones also reported that Nacua has had to overcome the mental hurdle of his injury, which is complicated by his physical style of play and the risk of re-injury. Nacua practiced this week and seems to be good to go moving forward for the time being.

Nacua said this week at practice that he had been struggling with some change-of-direction stuff and that his hip area wasn’t feeling great and was causing some pain. However, Nacua noted that he felt good several times.

“The ability to put my foot in the ground. It feels good to do that and working through it,” said Nacua. “I've been working through it like getting acceleration, change of direction.”

Nacua was officially listed as a limited participant in practice on Thursday and then practiced fully on Friday. He doesn’t have an injury designation, so it’s safe to assume that he feels like he’s in a good spot.

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