Myles Garrett called his Los Angeles Rams debut “the worst version of myself that I’ve put out there” after finishing without a tackle in a 27-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Friday in Melbourne, Australia.
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year, traded from the Cleveland Browns this offseason after setting a single-season sack record with 23 last year, went without a tackle for only the fourth time in 135 career games and the first time since Week 11 of 2024.
ESPN tracking credited him with three pressures as the Rams generated pressure on just seven of 36 dropbacks by Brock Purdy, their third-lowest rate since the start of last season.
Garrett missed most of training camp with knee swelling and wore a sleeve on his left leg in practices, though he declined to identify which knee is injured. Head coach Sean McVay had said in camp that Garrett felt about 85 percent healthy.
After the game, McVay said Garrett was 100 percent “to my knowledge.”
Garrett did not share that view of his availability.
“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,” he said, via the Associated Press. “I wasn’t who I needed to be for my team.”
Asked about his priority heading into Week 2, Garrett said, “Getting healthy.” He added that he has to recover and return to the player he has been before.
49ers left tackle Trent Williams said he “couldn’t tell” Garrett was limited because “he’s still really hard to block.”
The Rams host the New York Giants on Monday night, when Aaron Donald could join the defensive line after sitting out the Australia trip. Garrett said the team expected adversity and now has to prove it is as resilient as it claims.
