Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay set off alarm bells with his recent comments on Myles Garrett. The sentiments were already in the air about the injury-plagued start to the reigning and two-time Defensive Player of the Year’s tenure in LA.
Amid that, Buffalo Bills star left tackle Dion Dawkins sent a “personal message” to Garrett.
“Hope he gets healthy, man,” Dawkins told reporters on October 9, ahead of their “Monday Night Football” matchup against the Rams in Week 5. “Football misses him, and keep being Myles.”
Garrett has faced the Bills three times in his career, all with the Cleveland Browns. He is 1-2 in those games, with 3 total tackles and 1.5 sacks. Garrett faces a two-year wait for the Rams to face the Bills during another regular-season tilt.
The rotation cycle for such interconference matchups is four years.
LA faced the AFC East in 2024, so the next time is 2028. It could happen sooner if the Bills are again selected as the Rams’ 17th game in any given season, as they were for this matchup.
Other than that, Dawkins and Garrett would need their teams to make a Super Bowl run to get another installment in their on-field rivalry. The Rams, though, have bigger fish to fry when it comes to Garrett and his health.
Rams Spark ‘Disaster’ Take Over Myles Garrett
“I know that the rehab is progressing well. He’s looked good in the meetings. Literally, as I was walking up, I realized that I had said I’ll have more of an update. And I thought to myself, ‘Oh, I don’t have more of an update on Myles,” McVay told reporters on October 8. “I’m a total idiot, but I haven’t had a chance. Here’s what I’ll tell you, though: I’ll find out so that I can have a little bit more of a specific answer for you guys, and feel like Ron Burgundy up here right now.”
All 49ers on SI’s Grant Cohn posted, “This trade has been a disaster for the Rams” in light of McVay’s update.
That garnered an unsurprising amount of pushback.
The Rams’ trade for Garrett came with a long-term view, as evidenced by their taking on his four-year, $160 million contract. That does not begin until the 2027 season, but the immediate implications of Garrett’s absence are also significant.
Browns’ Jared Verse Draws Strong Praise as Rams Wait for Myles Garrett Return
Former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis took some joy in seeing Jared Verse, whom the Rams traded to the Browns in the deal for Garrett, making his presence felt in Cleveland.
“What I was watching in that game [against the Pittsburgh Steelers], there was a guy who got traded from the LA Rams to the Cleveland Browns by the name of Jared Verse. And this dude is saying, ‘Don’t forget about me,’” Lewis said on the “Inside Football” podcast on October 7. “The looks on his face during that game and sitting on that bench at halftime, looking at that pad.
“We know a lot of guys can talk trash. Like you said a couple weeks ago, Cris [Carter], there’s a couple kind of dogs. There’s dogs that bark and dogs that bite. He was biting.”
Through four weeks, Verse has 10 total tackles and 0 sacks. He also has 2 pressures.
However, the Browns defense with Verse still trails the Rams defense (mostly) without Garrett in both yards and scoring. Add in that Garrett’s stint on injured reserve cannot end until after this week by NFL rule.
Moreover, Garrett has been given projections of a six-week absence, which would put his return at Week 8 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Myles Garrett Gets Direct Message Amid LA Rams ‘Disaster’