Garrett to IR. The Defensive Centerpiece Is Gone.

Myles Garrett is headed to injured reserve after knee surgery, ending what amounted to a one-week Rams debut for the player the organization spent the offseason building its defensive identity around. He had missed four practices during training camp managing soreness in his lower half — that was the first signal something wasn't right — and now the problem has become a season-altering absence.

The depth chart at defensive end lists Josaiah Stewart as the next man up. Stewart has not logged meaningful snaps at that level, and stepping into a starting role in place of a multi-time Defensive Player of the Year is not a gradual transition. It is a wall. The Rams added defensive pieces this offseason precisely because last year's close-game failures exposed how thin the margin was — they won fewer than half their one-score games in 2025 — and Garrett was supposed to be the fix on that side of the ball.

The Giants matchup this week adds a specific wrinkle. An offensive weapon returning to their lineup means the Rams will face a more complete attack than they might have anticipated, and they'll do it without the player they paid to anchor the pass rush. Braden Fiske logged five sacks last season and remains the most proven disruptor on the front, but one productive lineman does not replace what Garrett represented schematically or symbolically.

The Rams have been thin at quarterback all week. Now they're thin at the most important defensive position too. That's two foundational problems heading into Week 2, and neither one has a clean answer on the current roster.