MELBOURNE, Australia — Myles Garrett finished his Los Angeles Rams debut without a tackle in Friday’s 27-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and the reigning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year admitted afterward that his knee is in worse shape than he’d been letting on.
Garrett spent much of training camp and the Rams’ recent weeks of practice resting the knee, yet neither the star pass rusher nor the team had floated the idea that it might keep him from playing at his usual level to open his 10th NFL season. While speaking with reporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground before the 15-hour flight back to LA, Garrett conceded that he isn’t at 100% health, The Associated Press’ Greg Beacham reported.
“This was the worst version of myself that I’ve put out there, and I’ve got to be better,” Garrett said. “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.”
Myles Garrett Stays Quiet On Knee Injury Details
Garrett wouldn’t go into detail about the knee or his overall health, and he declined to even say which knee is hurt. Friday’s blank line in the box score was only the fourth time in 135 career NFL games that the edge rusher had finished without a tackle.
“I wasn’t the player that I wanted to be, and I feel like I wasn’t the player I’ve been before when I’ve stepped onto that field,” Garrett explained. “I’ve got to do what I can to get back to that.”
Missed time hadn’t been much of a problem for Garrett before this summer. Over his final five seasons with the Cleveland Browns, who traded him to Los Angeles during the offseason, Garrett sat out just two games.
Revamped Los Angeles Rams Come Up Short
Garrett’s quiet game was only one of several problems for a retooled Rams defense on Friday. After reaching the NFC championship game last season, LA added the league’s best pass rusher along with top cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson over the offseason. McDuffie held up well in Melbourne, but Watson got beaten by 49ers receiver Mike Evans for a touchdown, and nobody on the unit stepped up with a standout effort while the Niners scored the game’s final 24 points.
The Los Angeles offense didn’t give the defense much help, either. The Rams entered the season as the first team to open with the reigning NFL MVP and the reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year in the lineup, but Matthew Stafford looked nothing like last year’s version of himself. The 38-year-old quarterback completed 15 of 25 passes for 155 yards with an interception and didn’t throw a touchdown pass, a year after he threw at least one in every regular-season game.
Stafford said he wouldn’t describe himself as surprised, calling the result disappointing and pointing to an offense that couldn’t move the ball consistently or put enough points on the board to stay in the game.
Aaron Donald’s Return Looms As Rams Look To Regroup
The 20-point defeat was the Rams’ most lopsided since November 2024 and dropped LA to 0-1 in a season built around another Super Bowl push.
“We knew we were going to face some adversity this season,” Garrett explained. “It’s game one. We’ve got to find if we are as resilient as we’re saying.”
Aaron Donald didn’t make the trip to Australia, but the three-time AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year is expected to line up alongside Garrett soon. Donald, 35, ended his 2 1/2-year retirement two weeks ago and could be back on the field as early as Sept. 21, when the Rams host the New York Giants on Monday night.
