Myles Garrett described his performance in the Los Angeles Rams' 27-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers as "the worst version of myself that I've put out there." The defensive end said his knee was not fully healthy entering the Friday game in Melbourne, Australia.
Garrett registered no tackles in his Rams debut. This marks his first game without a tackle since Week 11 of the 2024 season and only the fourth such occurrence in his career.
The knee issue kept Garrett out of most of training camp. Rams coach Sean McVay previously called the problem swelling in Garrett's knee. Garrett did not specify which knee was injured, but he wore a sleeve on his left leg during multiple practices.
Garrett acknowledged his need to improve. "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," he said. His immediate focus for Week 2 is getting healthy. He added that he was "a little bit more focused on myself and trying to stay healthy than what they were doing, and that showed."
McVay offered a different assessment of Garrett's health. When asked if Garrett was 100 percent, McVay responded, "To my knowledge, yeah." This contrasts with an earlier training camp statement from McVay, who said Garrett reported feeling "about 85 percent" healthy.
Garrett joined the Rams this offseason via trade. He is the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year and set the single-season sack record last season while playing for the Cleveland Browns.
Los Angeles' pass rush struggled against the 49ers. The Rams pressured quarterback Brock Purdy on just seven of 36 dropbacks, a 19 percent rate—their third-lowest pressure rate since the start of last season. Garrett contributed only three individual pressures in the game.
Niners left tackle Trent Williams said he "couldn't tell" Garrett was not fully healthy. Williams noted that Garrett remains "still really hard to block" and emphasized that "no matter what he's going through, it's still not an easy out for anybody."
San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan praised his offensive line's effort, saying they "did an unbelievable job" against the Rams' defense. Shanahan confirmed the team did not alter its game plan for Garrett, even with defensive tackle Aaron Donald out, explaining that they "had to cheat the ends the same way, and it didn't change any of the game plan."
