Sean McVay: We thought Myles Garrett's knee injury was something he c…

Before Sunday's games kicked off, there was big news involving a team that had opened its season earlier in the week.

Rams defensive end Myles Garrett needs knee surgery and will miss at least four games because he'll be placed on injured reserve while he recovers. The news came after Garrett made no impact in last Thursday's loss to the 49ers and cited his health — his practice time was limited all summer because of the knee — as a reason for his ineffectiveness.

On Monday, Rams head coach Sean McVay said, via multiple reporters, that the team thought the injury was ""something that he would be able to work through." rocore.sbs

"Thought we would take an approach where he'd be feeling good enough to go contribute positive change and be the player that he's capable of," McVay said, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com. "That wasn't the case. And so the next right thing for us is to be able to get this thing fixed."

McVay said the team will not have a firm idea about Garrett's timeline to return to action until after the surgery. They know that it will be at least four games, however, and they know that their margin for error got a lot slimmer with or without him thanks to their dud in the opener.

Baker Mayfield’s Sunday afternoon did not go well, with three lost fumbles directly contributing to Tampa Bay’s 33-27 loss to Cincinnati.

After agreeing to a contract extension earlier in the week, Mayfield finished 23-of-28 for 216 yards with no touchdowns, no picks, and the three giveaways.

“This one falls on me,” Mayfield said in his postgame press conference. “I mean, they had, I think, 17 points alone off of my turnovers. Turns out to be a one-score game — six points.”

But the Bengals were just one of two AFC North opponents that the Buccaneers have to begin their 2026 slate.

The next, of course, is the Browns.

“I mean, obviously, there’s history there — there’s no way to go around that,” Mayfield said.

You think?

The Browns infamously decided to move on from Mayfield after the 2021 season and traded for Deshaun Watson as his replacement. While Mayfield has found a home with the Bucs after stints with the Panthers and Rams in 2022, the Browns are still reeling from the aftereffects of that disastrous trade.

While Mayfield is 0-1 against Cleveland, having lost to the team with Carolina in 2022, he now has a unique chance to rub the Browns’ nose in it.

But, at least publicly, he’s not making more of it than what it is.

“It’s the next opponent,” Mayfield said. “Cleveland happens to be the next opponent — our home opener. So, yeah. Have a bad taste in our mouth, looking forward to getting it out.

“It’s still the next one, and that’s the most important one,” Mayfield added. “I’ve said that to you guys over the years — it doesn’t matter who it is, the most important one is the next one. And we’ve got — I’ve got to get some stuff fixed. And we’ve got to move forward.”