LOS ANGELES — Myles Garrett is experiencing “a little soreness in his lower half,” Rams coach Sean McVay said Sunday afternoon after the star edge rusher didn’t appear for his third consecutive day of practice.
While McVay said that “there is nothing to worry about” and “no reason for concern” when it comes to the two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year’s status, he did add that Garrett will not practice on Monday afternoon, making it four straight training camp practices without the team’s biggest acquisition of the offseason.
“We are erring on the side of caution,” McVay said after Sunday’s jog-through practice. “He’s had checkups, all that kind of stuff, so there’s nothing to worry about. It’s more about how do we keep him as fresh as possible, while you guys have heard me talk about get the necessary callus, if you will, to be able to feel as good as possible, so that when we do play in Australia (the Sept. 10 regular-season opener), he’s ready to go and do his thing.”
A team official told the Southern California News Group and other local outlets on Saturday that his absence a day ago was related to a planned day off. Sunday’s absence is now attached to an ailment for Garrett, who recorded a career-high 23 sacks for the Cleveland Browns last season.
McVay said that while he doesn’t want to put the cart before the horse, he expects Garrett to return to practice for the next four-day block of training camp, which is set to begin Wednesday.
“(Senior Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance) Reggie (Scott) and those guys do such a great job, and (Garrett) is as tough as it gets, and so we want to make sure that he feels as good as possible,” McVay said. “And so I think as guys that have played a lot of football, we’ve got a lot of opportunities to be able to get better, but we also want to make sure that we’re getting an understanding of, all right, how to work best with him, and he’s been outstanding.”
Sunday was a planned rest day for quarterback Matthew Stafford, who is set to return for the final day of the four-day block on Monday.
Adams leading the way among receivers
When the Rams lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC championship game last season, veteran wide receiver Davante Adams was admittedly a “mess in the locker room” as he grappled with the 31-27 defeat, he said.
On the plane back to Los Angeles, with Stafford sitting in front of him, the league’s MVP turned around and shared a message to him.
“We’re sitting there, he sits in front of me and he’s just like turned around, he’s looking at me like, ‘I’m sorry, man. I wanted that for you so bad,’” Adams recalled Stafford said to him. “Not for him, but he wanted it for me. And that means a lot.”
Adams said that he’s battled with the perception of being a 33-year-old, who is still in the first stages of his life, but in football terms is one of the older players on the field – often seen as a veteran leader. With a wide receivers room that features plenty of young talent – star wide receiver Puka Nacua, receivers Tru Edwards, Jordan Whittington, Xavier Smith, Konata Mumpfield and rookie CJ Daniels – the All-Pro wideout views his role on the team as more than just a player, but a coach on the field as well.
“That’s why it’s great to have guys like Puka that, I mean, he could go out and be an All-Pro without my help, but if I can give him just a couple little pieces that’ll help take his game to the next level, him or Konata or whoever it is, that’s what I’m here for,” Adams said.
Nacua joked last week that Adams was heading into Year 40 in the NFL.
Adams joked himself that he’s aged in dog years by playing the NFL, requesting that the Rams tell him when he needs to take rest days during training camp – something he said he’s doing for the first time in his career – so that his body in his 13th year in the league (second season with the Rams) is ready for the grueling trek toward a potential Super Bowl run.
“It’s super exciting, and I think just to have that level of knowledge, different concepts, different ways to to understand defenses, and just to steal leverage,” Nacua said of Adams on Wednesday. “I think there’s something that he still does it at such a high level, so it’s always really fun to watch him.”
Nacua continued: “I feel like everybody in our receiver room, we’re blessed to have Davante Adams and to be able to ask questions because of the amount of experience that he’s been able to have throughout this NFL career.”