Rams' Myles Garrett injury puts Josaiah Stewart on an even brighter stage

The Los Angeles Rams will not have Myles Garrett for at least the next four weeks, following the news that he will undergo knee surgery and require a stint on injured reserve. They won't have Jared Verse, either, the young star they traded for him. 

Instead, they'll need to go all-in on second-year edge rusher Josaiah Stewart, already poised for a breakout but now faced with a burden of entirely different proportions. With Garrett out, he'll be the second starter alongside Byron Young. 

The Rams won't ask Stewart to fill Garrett's shoes. Obviously. Those are some size-22 clogs. 

They will need him to do more than expected. A lot more. A silver lining? Well, Rams fans looked forward to a Stewart leap year. Now he'll have every opportunity. 

Rams will thrust Josaiah Stewart into leading role with Myles Garrett out

This is not, of course, the envisioned context for a sophomore jump from Stewart. After logging 374 defensive snaps last season, it wasn't clear that he'd see more than a modest increase this season with Garrett and Young holding down starting roles. Once Garrett returns, Stewart will revert to a rotational role. But that won't be for at least four games, and quite possibly more. 

Stewart was one of the more productive Rams in that Week 1 embarrassment against the San Francisco 49ers. He recorded six tackles and a quarterback hit in only 28 snaps, 43 percent of available reps. 

Stewart provided solid production while avoiding blooper-reel moments like Young (who was pancaked by banged-up tight end George Kittle) and defensive lineman Tyler Davis (who head-butted Brock Purdy for a bailout roughing-the-passer penalty). PFF awarded Stewart an excellent 75.9 overall grade.

More significantly, he was also a meaningful contributor as a rookie, totaling three sacks, 22 tackles, a forced fumble, and a pair of passes defensed. Actually, the Rams could gain one small advantage from bringing Stewart off the edge in place of Garrett.

Specifically, Stewart is more naturally an outside linebacker for LA's 3-4 base front, and is better equipped to drop back in coverage when needed. Garrett, meanwhile, is a traditional hand-in-the-dirt DE playing OLB because that's just how the defense is set up.

Arguing that Stewart's versatility will make up for losing Garrett would be like taking an ice pick to a glacier, but it does give defensive coordinator Chris Shula some options. 

More important, of course, will be finding a way to mitigate Garrett's absence by supplying brute production. There's no such thing as 'replacing' Garrett, but in a nightmare scenario, the Rams will lean heavily on Stewart to help reduce the delta. 

The bad news: the pass rush will inevitably suffer without Garrett, and his loss could help dig LA a gnarly early-season hole. The good: Stewart is full of promise and had a standout training camp. The Rams now need him more than they ever expected to.

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