Myles Garrett Admits Injury Impact After Struggling Performance in Rams’ Loss to 49ers

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  Sarah BarshopSep 11, 2026, 01:51 AM ET

MELBOURNE, Australia — Myles Garrett described his performance in the Los Angeles Rams’ 27-7 defeat to the San Francisco 49ers as “the worst version of myself that I’ve put out there,” acknowledging his knee was not at full strength during the game.

Garrett skipped most of training camp due to knee swelling, which head coach Sean McVay initially cited as limiting his availability. While Garrett did not specify the injured knee, he wore a sleeve on his left leg during several practices. “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.” When asked about his focus for Week 2, Garrett responded, “Getting healthy.”

“When I was out there, I was a little bit more focused on myself and trying to stay healthy than what they were doing, and that showed,” Garrett added. “I wasn’t who I needed to be for my team.”

Garrett, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, was acquired by the Rams during the offseason after setting a single-season sack record with the Cleveland Browns last year. The 49ers game marked his first contest without a tackle since Week 11 of the 2024 season, according to ESPN Research.

Rams coach Sean McVay stated Garrett was “to my knowledge” fully healthy heading into the matchup. Earlier in camp, McVay noted Garrett had reported feeling “about 85%” recovered. The Rams generated pressure on only 7 of 36 snap counts (19%) against 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, their lowest rate since the previous season. Garrett registered just three individual pressures, per ESPN tracking data.

San Francisco left tackle Trent Williams commented, “I couldn’t tell [Garrett wasn’t healthy] because he’s still really hard to block. He’s one of those players where, you know, no matter what he’s going through, it’s still not an easy out for anybody.”

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan praised his team’s offensive line performance, noting they did not adjust their game plan specifically for Garrett after learning defensive tackle Aaron Donald would miss the game. “You can’t really balance it out. We had to cheat the ends the same way, and it didn’t change any of the game plan,” Shanahan said.

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