The Cleveland Browns traded away a two time Defensive Player of the Year this offseason, and the return on that deal is already shaping the story of how a new era of Browns football looks without him. Myles Garrett struggled to make an impact in his Rams debut on Thursday, and now comes a much bigger update. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Garrett is heading to injured reserve after dealing with a knee issue that limited him throughout Los Angeles’ season opener.
Pelissero shared the news along with details on Garrett’s timeline for a return.
“Rams star Myles Garrett will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his ailing knee and is headed to injured reserve, sources tell @ringer @netflixsports. Garrett has been dealing with lower-leg pain and wasn’t himself in Thursday’s opener. The hope is he’s back in four weeks.”
Rams star Myles Garrett will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his ailing knee and is headed to injured reserve, sources tell @ringer @netflixsports.
Garrett has been dealing with lower-leg pain and wasn’t himself in Thursday’s opener. The hope is he’s back in four weeks. pic.twitter.com/naTKJDV06R
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 13, 2026
For Browns fans still processing the trade that sent Garrett west, this update adds an entirely new layer to an already complicated situation. Los Angeles gave up significant draft capital and Jared Verse to acquire Garrett, banking on him anchoring their defensive line immediately. Instead, he finished his first game in a Rams uniform with no tackles, no pressures and no sacks in a lopsided loss to the 49ers, and now that quiet debut has an explanation attached to it.
Cleveland’s return on the trade looks different with each passing day. Verse arrived in Cleveland this offseason and has spent his introduction to the fan base talking about turning this defense relentless and fast, comments that carried extra weight given who he was traded for. A healthy, productive version of Garrett would have made that trade sting more immediately for Browns fans watching from a distance. A version sidelined for a month, coming off a 23 sack season that set the bar impossibly high, complicates the early narrative in Cleveland’s favor.
None of this changes what Garrett meant to the Browns for nearly a decade, and a four week absence is unlikely to define his time in Los Angeles long term. But for a Cleveland front office that absorbed plenty of criticism for moving on from its best defensive player, an injury this early does soften some of the outside pressure surrounding the decision, at least in the short term.
The bigger story remains in Cleveland regardless of what happens with Garrett going forward. Mike Rutenberg is building his first defense around Verse and a group that includes Denzel Ward and Quincy Williams, and every week Garrett spends away from the field is another week where the only real evidence of this defense’s identity comes from how it performs without him, not from constant comparisons to the player it traded away.
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