Rams’ Puka Nacua leaves practice with Cowboys early; Myles Garrett held out with ‘knee soreness’

LOS ANGELES — Sean McVay said the Rams’ joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday morning in Woodland Hills showcased “good stuff from both sides.”

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But as the day came to a close, the Rams head coach addressed two absences on the field.

Reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett is still dealing with the ailment that kept him out for four days during the team’s two weeks at Loyola Marymount for training camp, keeping him off the field for the past two days, McVay said.

“He’s still got a little swelling in that knee, but said, ‘I’m feeling about 85%,’” McVay said of Garrett, who watched the defensive unit from the sidelines with a leg sleeve covering his left leg. “I don’t know what 100% is going to look like, but it must be pretty good if that’s 85%. So, we just erred on the side of caution. … He’s so tough, he wanted to be out there.”

Meanwhile, wide receiver Puka Nacua left the joint practice with team trainers midway through and did not return. McVay said that he did not know what caused the 25-year-old star’s exit Tuesday.

“He was not able to finish practice, so something happened,” McVay said. “I’ll have an update on it. I’m not sure exactly what that was.”

Added quarterback Matthew Stafford: “Nobody ran up to me in a panic, so I don’t think it’s anything too crazy.”

Outside of McVay’s availability updates on two of his star players, there were plenty of plays worth noting from the Rams’ offense and defense. Whereas last year the Rams took to Oxnard and impressed in an overpowering effort over the Cowboys’ secondary – in what became a sneak peak of the Cowboys’ last-in-the-NFL defense – Tuesday was a little more measured on both sides of the ball.

Rams outside linebacker Byron Young consistently beat Cowboys tackle Terence Steele on the edge, potentially earning a pair of sacks if the joint practice had been played at real game speed. Outside linebacker Josiah Stewart also looked comfortable on the edge against the Cowboys’ offensive line. In the secondary, safety Kamren Kinchens had a solid pass breakup on star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in the early goings of 11-on-11 action between the team’s “ones,” while safety Quentin Lake secured a red-zone interception against Dak Prescott when he jumped a route on a pass intended for Dallas wide receiver George Pickens.

“Those guys are at the top of their game,” McVay said of Lamb and Pickens. “I mean, it’s great work for us.”

Cowboys running back Javonte Williams had some success finding gaps in the Rams’ defensive line early in drills, but there weren’t many glaring missed assignments in the run defense Tuesday. The Rams forced backup running back Jaydon Blue to fumble on a short run attempt.

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When it comes to offense, all three quarterbacks, Stafford, Stetson Bennett IV and first-round draft pick Ty Simpson, took reps against the Cowboys. Stafford and Bennett spent the most time on the field, with their respective one and two units, while Simpson appeared for a handful of drives near the end of practice.

Stafford, who found wide receivers Davante Adams and Nacua with consistency before the latter’s practice exit, said Tuesday’s joint practice is something he enjoys, even entering his Year 18 season. Stafford added that going up against “one of his favorite” former teammates, Cowboys defensive back Cobie Durant, was fun.

“We did some good things, and there’s things to clean up,” Stafford said. “That’s every practice. I thought our guys up front played really well, the run game; we’ll go look at it on tape. Obviously, we’re two minutes off the field right now, but (it) felt like our guys inside played really well against a really stout defensive front that they have over there.”

One Cowboys player struck gold three times against the Rams’ offense. Dallas linebacker Justin Barron secured three interceptions (two against Bennett, one vs. Stafford) on Tuesday, the first pair of which came across a few-minute span.

Bennett, on the other hand, made an impressive off-balanced pass to find wide receiver Tyler Scott along the right sideline, but neither the fourth-year backup nor Stafford made plays that could be necessarily considered explosive on Tuesday.

On the offensive line, veteran tackle David Quessenberry and rookie Keagen Trost rotated in with the ones, potentially showing options up front should expected starting left tackle Alaric Jackson face a suspension to begin the season. Trost said that the joint practice experience was helpful considering they didn’t have a “great idea” for what a new defensive coordinator such as Dallas’ Christian Parker would offer.

“It really gives you a chance to go out there and react rather than knowing exactly what your defense is going to bring and you know the things that you’re used to them doing through camp,” Trost said. “It challenges you more to get a different look that you have no idea what it could be.”

While the Rams will have another joint practice, this time with the New Orleans Saints on Aug. 20, McVay said Tuesday’s look against the Cowboys gave their group an opportunity to grow.

“I look forward to really looking at the film and diving into how we can learn from it,” he said.

NOTES

McVay said Tuesday that there is still “no news” on the Aaron Donald front and his potential return from retirement. … “I don’t even want to put a timeline on it because I don’t want to rush.”

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