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Los Angeles Rams defensive end Myles Garrett expects to play Sunday despite missing practice, while cornerback Trent McDuffie is questionable for their game at the Arizona Cardinals.
Garrett was held out of practice on Friday after being limited earlier in the week because of a knee injury that caused him to miss seven games before returning to make three sacks with a forced fumble in the Rams’ 20-13 win at the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
“He’s had a really good week,” coach Sean McVay said. “Played a bunch of snaps, and expect him to be able to build on that. But we’re being smart with him.”
Garrett was largely pleased with his performance, in which he played 61.5% of the defensive snaps, apart from needing to build up his endurance and address what he felt was a slow get-off time.
“I’m sure Next Gen or PFF or somebody would tell me it wasn’t too bad,” Garrett said. “It felt terrible to me.”
McDuffie is dealing with a back injury that forced him to miss the Rams’ third straight win last week, getting them over .500 for the first time this season at 5-4. McVay expressed optimism he would be able to play, provided McDuffie felt good coming out of Friday’s workout.
“He was rolling, you know, doing a lot of good stuff yesterday,” McVay said.
The ongoing issues with the Rams’ two marquee offseason acquisitions are indicative of their larger injury crisis that has threatened a campaign that began with them as Super Bowl betting favorites. Los Angeles is so beat up that star wide receiver Puka Nacua was placed on injured reserve Thursday to free up a roster spot, a reversal from what McVay had indicated earlier in the week when he cited the limited number of IR slots remaining to be able to bring players back later in the season.
“Some things changed where we needed that spot because of all the moving pieces,” said McVay, while adding that nothing has changed with the timeline for Nacua’s return from knee and toe injuries.
Safety Kam Curl is questionable with a toe injury, but McVay indicated he is likely to play. The same is expected for the Rams’ banged-up crop of tight ends, Colby Parkinson (ribs), Tyler Higbee (illness) and Davis Allen (oblique). All three are needed to supplement the passing game with top receivers Nacua, Davante Adams (hamstring) and Jordan Whittington (back) on IR.
Tight end Terrance Ferguson (ankle/hamstring) and left guard Steve Avila (hamstring) were ruled officially out, as was previously announced.
The Rams were upset by the Cardinals 18-16 on Oct. 18, giving up a last-minute drive which ended with Chad Ryland kicking his sixth field goal as time expired at SoFi Stadium.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
