Myles Garrett's Knee Surgery Sidelines Rams DPOY for Four Weeks Minimum
Garrett's arthroscopic knee surgery guarantees he misses four games. Week 6 vs. Arizona is his earliest return — not a target. Here's the fantasy fallout.
Elite QB1 with 46 TD, 0 INT in 2025 — a shakier D doesn't touch his value.
- Garrett misses Giants, Broncos, Eagles, Bills after knee surgery
- Week 6 vs. Arizona is earliest return, not a firm target
- Garrett logged 0 tackles, 0 sacks, 0 QB hits vs. 49ers Week 1
- Aaron Donald's ramp-up leaves DPOY duo timeline in doubt
- Stafford: 370 PPR pts in 2025 (17 games), 46 TD, 0 INT
Myles Garrett is headed to injured reserve after arthroscopic knee surgery, and the Rams' prized offseason acquisition is now guaranteed to miss four games — the Giants, Broncos, Eagles and Bills. Week 6 against Arizona is being floated as his earliest possible return, but let's be clear about the wording: Sean McVay said Garrett could "potentially" be back after four weeks. That's not a timeline. That's a hope.
Matthew Stafford, who himself put up 370 PPR points across 17 games in 2025 with 46 touchdowns and zero interceptions, tried to wave it off on his podcast, calling the injury a small bump in the road and backing Garrett to grind his way back fast. Stafford knows something about arriving in L.A. under a mountain of expectations. But optimism from the quarterback doesn't change what the medical calendar says.
Why the Optimism Deserves Side-Eye
The sequence here should give fantasy managers pause. Garrett dealt with knee soreness early in camp, was managed on a maintenance schedule, then got cleared for the opener — where he recorded nothing against San Francisco and later admitted he was protecting himself more than attacking. Days after that, the maintenance plan became surgery.
This is a familiar Rams pattern: narrow the diagnosis, lead with optimism, dodge firm dates. It happened with Todd Gurley's knee in 2018, with Stafford's elbow in 2022, and again with Stafford's back in 2025, when the team publicly projected Week 1 confidence while internally weighing IR. None of that proves L.A. is spinning Garrett's situation — but it's exactly why you shouldn't treat reassuring soundbites as a return date.
The Fantasy Fallout
The schedule offers no mercy. The Giants just gashed Dallas with a physical ground game, Denver is a short-week road trip, Philadelphia is a brutal test, and then comes Josh Allen — our No. 6 overall player and QB2, coming off 365 PPR points in 2025 with 14 rushing touchdowns. Aaron Donald was supposed to be the reinforcement, but he's still rebuilding conditioning after two years away and hasn't been committed to for the Giants game. The dream of pairing two former Defensive Players of the Year doesn't materialize until Week 6 at the absolute earliest.
For fantasy purposes: this is a defensive story, not an offensive one. Stafford (our No. 1 QB, No. 3 overall) is a firm HOLD and every-week starter regardless of what his defense is doing — his 2025 line speaks for itself. If you're in an IDP league and holding Garrett, stash him on IR and be patient; there's no reason to expect a fast, firm return given this team's track record. And if you own Josh Allen, that Week 5 date against a depleted Rams front just got a lot juicier.
