Myles Garrett returned to the Los Angeles Rams’ practice field Sunday, an important step for a defense that has spent most of the preseason managing the star pass rusher’s knee before the regular-season opener against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne.
Garrett had missed much of the Rams’ recent on-field work because of the knee issue. Head coach Sean McVay told reporters before Sunday’s session that Garrett was expected to do at least some football work, and multiple reports confirmed that the veteran edge rusher did return to practice. The Rams had not yet issued their first official Week 1 participation report at the time of the update, so the exact workload and any game-status designation remained unresolved.
That distinction matters. Garrett being back on the field is a clear improvement from spending most of the preseason on the sideline, but it is not the same as a guarantee that he will handle a normal snap count Thursday. Los Angeles still has multiple steps to clear between a controlled practice return and a full game workload on the other side of a trans-Pacific flight.
For the latest roster context, FSN’s Los Angeles Rams team hub tracks the club’s 2026 roster, schedule and news. The Week 1 matchup itself is available in the 49ers-Rams Game Center.
Garrett’s return is the first good answer to the Rams’ biggest defensive availability question
The Rams traded for Garrett in June after a 2025 season in which he set an NFL single-season record with 23 sacks and also led the league with 33 tackles for loss. The performance earned him his second Defensive Player of the Year award and, last week, the No. 1 spot on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026 as voted by players.
That résumé is why his preseason absence has carried more significance than a routine veteran maintenance plan. Los Angeles did not acquire Garrett to be merely another rotational edge defender. The point of the move was to add a game-changing pass rusher capable of altering protections, creating one-on-one opportunities for teammates and forcing quarterbacks to speed up their decisions.
The Rams have also changed the ceiling of their front by bringing Aaron Donald back after two seasons away. FSN recently examined how Donald’s return makes Los Angeles’ Super Bowl bet more aggressive and more complicated. Garrett is central to that equation. If both are available, the Rams can stress an offense from the edge and the interior without relying on a single pressure source.
If Garrett is limited, the front can still be dangerous, but the distribution of snaps and the way Los Angeles constructs pressure packages become more important. That is why Sunday’s return is meaningful without being the final answer.
Why the timing matters before the 49ers game
The Rams are operating on an unusual Week 1 schedule. McVay said Sunday’s practice was being treated like a normal Wednesday in the team’s weekly rhythm, with three practice days scheduled before the club boards its flight to Australia on Tuesday night. The game is Thursday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
That compressed sequence makes every practice rep useful. A player returning from a knee issue is not simply proving that he can move through drills; the medical and performance staffs are also evaluating how the knee responds after work, how much volume can be added the next day and whether the long flight changes the recovery plan.
For Garrett, the most important information over the next two days will come from the official injury reports. A limited designation would not be surprising after a long layoff, but the specific progression matters more than the label. The Rams need to know whether his workload can climb without a setback.
What Garrett changes if he is available
San Francisco’s offensive line will already have to account for Donald’s potential return. Adding Garrett to the same front creates a different kind of protection problem because an offense cannot devote extra attention everywhere at once.
That does not mean the Rams automatically dominate the matchup. The 49ers have an experienced offense, a veteran left tackle in Trent Williams and a system built to create quick answers for quarterback Brock Purdy. But elite individual rushers reduce the margin for error. One lost rep on third down can end a drive, and one pressure can turn a routine completion into a turnover opportunity.
Garrett’s presence also has value even when he does not record a sack. Protection slides, chip help and quicker route concepts are all ways offenses respond to elite rushers. If San Francisco has to devote extra resources to Garrett, Los Angeles can use that attention to create cleaner matchups elsewhere.
The Rams do not need him to play every defensive snap for that influence to matter. In Week 1, especially after a preseason interrupted by a knee issue, a targeted role in obvious passing situations could still materially change the game. Whether that becomes the plan will depend on how the next practices go.
The return also reduces uncertainty around a defense carrying huge expectations
Los Angeles has made no secret of its championship ambitions. Matthew Stafford remains the quarterback, the offense returns most of its core, and the defense now features both Garrett and Donald. That construction creates a high ceiling but also a short list of players whose availability changes the entire shape of the team.
Garrett is one of those players. His return Sunday does not erase the knee concern, but it moves the conversation from whether he can get back on the field to how much he can handle before Thursday.
What comes next for Myles Garrett
The Rams’ first official Week 1 injury report should provide the next concrete data point. From there, the key questions are whether Garrett practices again, whether his participation level increases and what game-status designation he receives before the team leaves for Melbourne.
Until those reports arrive, the verified development is straightforward: after missing significant preseason practice time with a knee issue, Garrett is back doing football work. For a Rams team built around an unusually star-heavy defensive front, that is the first step it needed before Week 1.