The Rams’ appetite for the big swing has defined the Les Snead and Sean McVay era, and it has usually worked out in their favor. Trading for Matthew Stafford delivered a Super Bowl in 2021.
The Von Miller deal brought a short-term jolt that mattered in the postseason. Jalen Ramsey became a vital piece in the secondary.
This front office has long preferred chasing the upside instead of backing away from the downside.
That same mindset is now running headfirst into a Myles Garrett injury that has the Rams dealing with an early jolt of buyer’s remorse. Garrett was traded to Los Angeles three months after the Ravens agreed to a deal for Maxx Crosby that later fell apart after his physical raised concerns about his left knee. The Rams made their move anyway, but Garrett’s knee swelling showed up before he ever played a snap, and now the issue has escalated.
On Sunday, Garrett was placed on injured reserve and is set to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his knee, which will sideline him a minimum of four games, as @TomPelissero reported. Sean McVay had framed the early knee issue as caution, but the situation clearly went beyond simple rest and management. Garrett had been held out of practice before the season, and the team now has a much bigger problem on its hands.
The timing makes the whole thing hard to ignore. Garrett first felt knee soreness heading into the second week of training camp, and he had been in and out of practice ever since.
He didn’t string together consecutive practice days again until the lead-up to Week 1. That leaves plenty of room to wonder whether the Rams should have recognized sooner that the knee was not bouncing back the way they hoped.
There is also the question of how much was known before the trade. Garrett participated in the final days of OTAs, but the soreness started before camp really settled in. The Rams have a history of being less than fully open about injuries, including Todd Gurley’s knee issue in 2018 and Matthew Stafford’s elbow soreness in 2022, along with his back injury last offseason.
After the game, Garrett made it clear he had been hurting and didn’t feel like himself. That naturally raises the question of whether the Rams did enough due diligence before making the deal, or whether they simply accepted the risk because of the kind of player Garrett has been throughout his career.
Even with where things stand now, the Rams would probably make the trade again every time. They were not going to pass on Garrett because of what might go wrong. That’s been the cost of doing business for this front office, and it’s also why the franchise has had the success it has had under McVay.
The move still comes with a real sting, especially since the Rams had to part with a promising young pass rusher in Jared Verse. But this is the gamble they chose.
The Ravens backed out of the Crosby trade in March, while the Rams followed through on Garrett. Crosby, meanwhile, will play today for the #Raiders after the nixed #Ravens trade, and he had told interested teams - including the #Rams - that he did not want to be traded.
This is not being framed as a failure. The Rams will hope Garrett’s surgery is just a detour and that he returns healthy once he comes off injured reserve. Still, the start of the Garrett era has not gone the way anyone in Los Angeles wanted, and it leaves the Rams waiting to find out whether their latest huge swing ends up looking like one more smart bet or a painful miss.
In Other News...
Matthew Stafford Just Became The Center Of A Bigger Rams Question
Sean McVay has made it clear that Matthew Stafford is still the quarterback around which the Rams are built, but the bigger issue now is how long that arrangement stays intact. McVay even credited Stafford for helping shape his own decision to keep coaching, a reminder of how intertwined the two have become in Los Angeles, while also acknowledging that Staffords playing timeline remains uncertain.
The uncertainty has only sharpened because the Rams already used a first-round pick on a quarterback in 2023, giving the team a clear fallback plan even as Stafford remains the present tense answer. For now, the franchise is balancing respect for what Stafford means to the roster with the practical reality that every season ahead has to be weighed against the future, and McVays latest comments suggest that question is only getting louder. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Fans Have A Bigger Reason To Worry Than That Loss
The Rams left Australia with more than a lopsided loss to the 49ers, because the scoreboard was only part of the concern after a rough performance in a game Sean McVay was quick to frame as not defining his team. The bigger issue was the status of Myles Garrett, whose debut with Los Angeles did not match expectations and whose knee injury now puts a key early-season piece on the shelf as the team tries to steady itself.
Garrett has already been placed on injured reserve for arthroscopic knee surgery, a setback that is expected to keep him out at least four weeks. Beyond the injury itself, there is growing curiosity around his readiness and how the Rams handled the travel and workload around the trip, with some outside chatter pointing to tension even as no firm details have been confirmed. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Get One Needed Break Before Their Week 2 Defensive Test
The Rams at least got some encouraging injury news heading into a Week 2 matchup that already carries more weight on the defensive side than usual. Safety Kam Curl, linebacker Nate Landman and tight end Davis Allen, all banged up in the opener, are expected to be available against the Giants, which gives Los Angeles a little more stability as it tries to settle in after the first week of the season.
Omar Speights is still working back from a hip injury and some swelling, but the early signs there have been positive. The larger picture remains the same for the Rams: they are trying to keep enough bodies on hand now while also waiting on longer-term help, with Myles Garrett sidelined for at least four weeks and the team hoping Aaron Donald can return soon. [Read more 🡒]