Rams star edge rusher Myles Garrett, who has been sidelined for seven games following knee surgery, returned to practice Wednesday.
Garrett, the reigning NFL defensive player of the year, has been on injured reserve since undergoing left knee surgery after the Rams’ season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Australia.
Coach Sean McVay said the Rams have attempted to be “as diligent, as thorough” as possible before allowing Garrett to practice and opening the 21-day window for him to return to the roster.
McVay said Garrett would take half the amount of full reps on Wednesday and would be evaluated each day before determining when he would be activated to the roster for a game. Garrett went through individual drills with edge rushers during the portion of practice open to reporters.
The Rams play the Washington Commanders on Sunday in Landover, Md.
“A lot of it is going to be predicated on his communication and feedback to us,” McVay said of when Garrett will play in a game for the first time, “and then ultimately being able to see that, hopefully the expectation is he’s ready to rock this week.”
When Garrett returns to game action, it will mark the first time that he and defensive lineman Aaron Donald will play together.
The two stars have five NFL defensive-player-of-the-year awards and 236½ sacks between them.
Donald, sparked by the Rams’ trade for Garrett in June, came out of a two-year retirement to rejoin a team that opened the season as the Super Bowl favorite. But Donald, a three-time defensive player of the year, did so on the eve of the opener and did not travel for the first game.
Garrett did not make a tackle against the 49ers. In six games, Donald has 12 tackles, three for losses, and two quarterback hits but no sacks.
Last season, Garrett amassed an NFL season-record 23 sacks for the Cleveland Browns.
