Add The California Post on Google At some point, caution starts looking suspiciously like concern.
For the Los Angeles Rams and superstar Myles Garrett, they’re not there yet. But after another practice came and went Tuesday without the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year on the field, Rams fans can be forgiven for starting to ask questions.
Garrett has barely practiced since training camp first opened on the campus of Loyola Marymount University on July 27, participating fully just twice after experiencing what the Rams initially described as knee “soreness.”
Myles Garrett of the Los Angeles Rams looks on during training camp at Loyola Marymount University on Monday, July 27, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images North America) Getty Images “I feel good,” Garrett said on Aug. 5. “I’m allowed to get sore. I’m a little old.”
Asked whether it was unusual for him to miss training camp practices because of soreness, Garrett shrugged off the issue.
“I don’t think it’s happened every training camp, but every now and then I get a bump or bruise,” Garrett said. “They’re just trying to make sure I get back to 100%.”
Garrett, acquired from the Cleveland Browns in a blockbuster June 1 trade, has not participated in the Rams’ joint practices, preseason games or full-team practices. He has continued to work out individually, but with Los Angeles scheduled to open the regular season on Sept. 10 in Melbourne, Australia, every practice Garrett misses adds another log on the social media fire surrounding the mystery and true severity of his knee injury.
Last Monday, McVay said he expected for both Garrett and star wide-receiver Puka Nacua, who also has not practiced fully since suffering a psoas injury in his lower back in a joint-practice with the Dallas Cowboys on Aug. 11, to be back this week. Thus far neither of them has practiced and likely won’t have another opportunity until Saturday at the earliest.
“Genuinely asking — has Myles Garrett practiced as a Ram yet?” one fan asked the California Post after an update on both players’ status was provided on Tuesday. “I feel like he’s been dealing with soreness/random injury stuff for a good part of the offseason. Hope he’s alright!!”
Another wondered whether Garrett could be dealing with an undisclosed “chronic knee issue,” while acknowledging the Rams are likely being “uber cautious,” as McVay suggests.
Los Angeles Rams defensive end Myles Garrett during a joint practice against the Dallas Cowboys at the Rams Practice Facility in Woodland Hills, California, on Aug. 11, 2026. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect) IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect And while there is some mystery about Garrett’s knee soreness, McVay deserves the benefit of the doubt when it comes to bubble-wrapping his superstars in August.
For example, Matthew Stafford didn’t take a single training camp, preseason, or practice snap last year while dealing with a herniated disc in his lower back. Some NFL experts predicted he would not be ready for the start of the regular season. Others said he may never play football again.
The result? Stafford played all 17 games and delivered arguably the finest season of his 17-year career and won the NFL Most Valuable Player award.
McVay has learned in his 10 years as head coach of the Rams to treat August practices simply as preparation, not proving grounds, for his established starters. Stafford, Nacua, Garrett, and veteran wideout Davante Adams don’t need preseason snaps to prove they belong on the roster. They just need to be healthy on Sundays.
McVay reiterated Tuesday that Garrett’s absence remains precautionary as the focus remains on having him ready to start in Australia for Week 1.
“We are, yeah,” McVay said when asked whether the Rams were erring on the side of caution. “The goal is, what can we do to be able to get him ready to roll for Australia? That’s kind of where you see that approach.”
But Garrett was brought to Los Angeles to transform an already dangerous Rams defense into something terrifying. Fans have spent nearly three months imagining what he’ll look like wearing horns, and possibly alongside Aaron Donald, in what could be the greatest pass rush ever assembled.
Eventually, they’d like to actually see him on the field.
Until then, every missed practice will make that mysterious knee injury just a little harder to ignore.
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