Sean McVay disputes reports of a six-week recovery for the star pass rusher, emphasizing a performance-based return as the former Aggie recovers from recent knee surgery.
Former Texas A&M star Myles Garrett’s return to the field remains uncertain after Rams head coach Sean McVay addressed a report regarding the timeline for the star defensive end’s recovery.
Garrett underwent knee surgery after making his Los Angeles debut in Week 1.
The former Aggie had been dealing with the knee issue throughout the offseason, but the Rams initially believed he would be able to manage it and remain effective once the regular season began.
That plan changed following the season opener.
Garrett played 62 percent of Los Angeles’ defensive snaps against the San Francisco 49ers but finished without a tackle or sack.
The Rams subsequently placed him on injured reserve, guaranteeing that he would miss at least four games.
A report by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network indicated on Sunday morning that Garrett could be facing a six-week recovery timeline, which would potentially put his return around early November.
However, McVay made it clear that the reported timeline isn't something the Rams have officially established.
"That’s new to me," the Rams head coach said on the "Coach McVay Show" on Monday. "I'm not familiar with that report. What I do know is that he's making good progress. We knew he was going to be out a minimum of four weeks.
"Want to be able to allow him to start his clock whenever that is able to get started and see how he feels and make sure that when we put him back out there, it's return to performance, not just return to play."
That approach makes sense for the Rams, who made a significant investment in Garrett during the offseason.
Los Angeles acquired the former No. 1 overall pick from the Cleveland Browns in a blockbuster trade after he put together one of the best seasons ever by a defensive player.
Garrett is coming off a historic 2025 campaign in which he recorded 23 sacks, breaking the NFL’s single-season record while earning Defensive Player of the Year honors.
His absence is particularly notable for Texas A&M fans. Garrett remains one of the most accomplished defensive players in program history, finishing his Aggie career with 32.5 sacks and 48.5 tackles for loss.
He also earned unanimous first-team All-American honors during his final season in College Station.
Now, the focus is on getting Garrett fully healthy before he returns to action.
While the six-week timeline could provide a rough idea of when he might be ready, McVay’s comments make clear that the Rams are not committing to a specific return date.
"Could be the minimum time required, could be six (weeks). We haven't really tried to put a hard deadline on it, so I’m not familiar with that."
For Garrett, the priority will be making sure the knee is ready for the demands of a full NFL workload. For the Rams, getting their star pass rusher back at full strength will be more important than rushing him onto the field.
