The Cleveland Browns are eight weeks into the 2026 campaign and the defense has barely missed Myles Garrett at all.
However, the Los Angeles Rams defense has missed him plenty, as Garrett has sat all but one game this season due to arthroscopic knee surgery that he underwent following the team’s disastrous trip to Australia in Week 1, which ended in a blowout defeat and with the defensive end on the injury report.
Now, nearly two months later, the Rams are getting their first bit of good news on Garrett, though it doesn’t necessarily involve him returning to help the aged and underachieving 4-4 squad get its season back on track.
“Head coach Sean McVay said at a Monday press conference that the pass rusher will practice this week,” Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk reported on Monday, November 2. “That will mark his first time on the field since having knee surgery after Week 1 of the regular season.”
Myles Garrett Still May Not Play in Actual Rams Game for Multiple Weeks
All that technically signifies is that Garrett’s 21-day practice window is now open, meaning Los Angeles has three weeks to activate the edge-rusher or he will return to the season-ending injured reserve list (IR).
Given the massive investment the Rams have made in Garrett, approximately $208 million total over the next five years, there is no chance they will rush him back into regular game action. More likely, Garrett will ramp up with individual work in practice before jumping back into team drills. That second phase isn’t liable to begin until late this week, or probably even next week.
Finally, Garrett will return to full practice work and then to an actual game. Given the timeline of things, he will almost certainly sit out the team’s game against the Washington Commanders next weekend (November 8). He has a considerably better chance to return against the Arizona Cardinals the following week.
However, it would not be a surprise if Garrett doesn’t take the field again in an official capacity until the Rams host the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving. That contest is also the Packers’ target date to get pass-rusher Micah Parsons back for his 2026 debut following a torn ACL and meniscus that he suffered in December of last year.
Browns’ Pass Rush Better This Season Than Last Year With Myles Garrett, Even Despite Zero Sacks From Jared Verse
Despite no Garrett, and despite zero sacks from Jared Verse through eight games, the Browns (5-3) are one game ahead of the Rams in the league-wide standings.
Surprisingly, Cleveland’s pass rush was actually better through seven weeks this season than it was across the same stretch of time in 2025, with Garrett on his way to the single-season sack record and leading the NFL in tackles for loss.
“How is it that the Browns can lose the single-season sack king, replace him with a player who has yet to register a sack, and the defense still has more sacks and pressures this year than they did at this time last year?” Jonathan Jones of The Athletic wrote October 30.
“The Browns’ 20 sacks and 108 pressures to this point outpace the 18 sacks and 81 pressures at the same time last year,” Jones continued. “They’ve gotten more production from the interior of the defensive line. Mason Graham and Maliek Collins have combined for [7.5] sacks (heading into Week 8).”
Browns Breathe Sigh of Relief After Myles Garrett’s Newest Injury Brief