The Rams, already reeling from an embarrassing season-opening defeat in Australia, suffered another major loss Sunday.
Star edge rusher Myles Garrett will have surgery on his left knee and be placed on injured reserve, a team official said.
Garrett must sit out a minimum of four games. The Rams’ next four opponents are the New York Giants, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills.
The impact of Garrett’s absence could be lessened if Aaron Donald makes his season debut when the Rams return to action Sept. 21 for their home opener. The future Hall of Fame lineman rejoined the Rams after a two-year retirement — in part to play alongside Garrett — but did not travel to Australia for the opener.
Regardless, Garrett’s surgery is another blow for a Rams team that opened the season as the favorite to win Super Bowl LXI.
One of the biggest reasons for that status was Garrett, a two-time NFL defensive player of the year who amassed 125½ sacks in nine seasons with the Cleveland Browns, including an NFL-record 23 last season.
The Rams acquired Garrett in a June trade that sent third-year edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round draft pick and two more picks to the Browns. Garrett missed most of training camp because of an unspecified knee issue that severely limited him in a 27-7 defeat by the San Francisco 49ers on Friday.
The seven-time All-Pro played 40 of 65 snaps and, for only the fourth time in his career, did not make a tackle. Afterward, Garrett described his performance as “the worst version of myself.” He said there were times he was thinking about his health rather than what the 49ers were doing on offense.
The Rams did not record a sack and hit 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy only two times.
In the opener, Garrett started opposite Byron Young, a fourth-year pro who had 12 sacks last season and made the Pro Bowl.
Josaiah Stewart, Desjuan Johnson and rookie Wesley Bailey are the other outside linebackers on the roster. Stewart, a second-year pro, had six tackles and one quarterback hit against the 49ers. Johnson, a fourth-year pro, moved from end to outside linebacker last season. He had one tackle against the 49ers. Bailey was the only undrafted free agent to make the Rams’ roster. He played two snaps on special teams in the opener.
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