LOS ANGELES (AP) — Defensive end Myles Garrett was held out of the Los Angeles Rams' joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday, while wide receiver Puka Nacua left the workout early because of an apparent injury.
Sean McVay said Garrett did not participate as a precaution because of swelling in his knee, which has the two-time AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year who was acquired in a blockbuster trade in June feeling 85% healthy, according to his new head coach. Garrett missed time earlier in training camp because of what McVay described as lower body soreness.
The Rams are still learning how to manage Garrett's workload in practice. The Cleveland Browns limited reps for Garrett later on in his tenure, allowing him to play in 83 of a possible 85 games over his final five seasons there.
“I don’t know what 100% is going to look like, but it must be pretty good if that’s 85%,” McVay said. “He’s so tough, he wanted to be able to be out there. ... There’s nothing to be concerned about. It was just kind of us erring on the side of caution. There wasn’t any setbacks, anything like that.”
Nacua came out of practice accompanied by team trainers, but McVay did not have an update on what happened to his No. 1 receiver who had 129 receptions for 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.
“I'm not exactly sure what was going on with him, but I thought ‘J Witt’ (Jordan Whittington), Konata Mumpfield did a great job stepping in,” McVay said.
Both McVay and Dallas head coach Brian Schottenheimer came away pleased with how their defenses performed against each other's high-powered offenses during the nearly two-hour session.
Coming off seasons where the Rams and Cowboys each struggled to stop the pass and made significant changes to overhaul their respective secondaries, the initial returns against live opposition were promising.
“I thought it was a battle,” Schottenheimer said. “You know, they had their plays, we had our plays. It's what a joint practice should look like.”
Cowboys reserve linebacker Justin Barron was the day's standout performer by intercepting Rams starting quarterback Matthew Stafford once and backup Stetson Bennett twice, while cornerback Shavon Revel continued his strong camp by breaking up passes intended for Nacua and Davante Adams.
Dak Prescott couldn't see what Dallas' defense was up to, but the star quarterback could hear it.
“I'm looking forward to watching it,” Prescott said. “I know I heard the cheers and the hollering, could tell it was our guys. Obviously, they've been doing it to us throughout camp and getting after it, so it's cool to see just that energy, that identity continue.”
Rams cornerback Trent McDuffie did the same on the other field by frequently frustrating the Cowboys' passing game, and safety Quentin Lake came up with a late interception on Prescott's throw intended for George Pickens in a red zone drill.
It was the first of two joint practices for both teams, with the Cowboys and Rams each set to work with the New Orleans Saints next week. Dallas will host New Orleans at its Oxnard, California, training camp base on Tuesday, and Los Angeles is set to do the same at its team complex in the San Fernando Valley one week from Thursday prior to their preseason game.
“These are opportunities for us to grow, even though we don't game plan,” McVay said. “We're just kind of testing our rules, but there was a lot of good stuff, really, from both sides.”
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