One of the biggest reasons the Los Angeles Rams were such overwhelming Super Bowl favorites before the regular season was the addition of edge rusher Myles Garrett after the franchise moved heaven and earth to acquire the 2-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year in a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Browns.
The Washington Commanders might be the first team to truly feel Garrett’s wrath in Week 9, after he missed the last 7 games due to arthroscopic knee surgery following his team’s Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia.
“Rams star Myles Garrett, working his way back from knee surgery that landed him on Injured Reserve, is on track to be activated ahead of Sunday’s game at the Commanders,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account on Friday. “Garrett has practiced all week and all indications point towards him playing. A big lift.”
“Myles Garrett is officially back vs the Commanders,” Commanders reporter Josh Taylor wrote on X.
Rams Battling Injuries, Commanders Battling Fate
The Rams are 4-4 and have battled a spate of injuries to their best players — NFL All-Pro wide receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams have both missed multiple games already.
The Commanders are 2-4-1 and battling to stay alive in the NFC East.
It also looks like they’ll now be battling two of the greatest pass rushers in NFL history — Rams nose tackle and 3-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald came out of retirement to play with Garrett but missed the Week 1 game against the 49ers.
“After a career of double-teams, (Donald) wanted to share a defensive line with another multi-time Defensive Player of the Year,” The Athletic’s Nate Atkins wrote on November 6. “Whenever that time would come, the Rams would feature the first defensive line in NFL history with two players with at least 100 career sacks and a 20-sack season under their belt.”
Commanders Have Injury-Prone Starting QB
The first thing that will spring to any Commanders fan’s mind upon hearing Garrett will return to play against their team… is an intense worry for the health and safety of starting quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Daniels has revealed himself as one of the NFL’s most injury-prone stars over the last two seasons. After playing every game as a rookie in 2024, Daniels missed 10 games in 2025 due to a variety of injuries and has already missed 3 games in 2025 with a dislocated elbow — an injury that has required him to wear a bulky arm brace since his return.
Rams Injury Update Could Drastically Impact Commanders QB Jayden Daniels