LOS ANGELES -- Rams cornerback Jaylen Watson will need shoulder surgery and be out for the rest of the season, coach Sean McVay said Wednesday.
Watson left the Rams' Week 8 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers after aggravating a previous shoulder injury. Watson dislocated his shoulder in Week 3 and sat out the following week.
McVay said though Watson wanted to play through the injury, the team was told "the likelihood of it coming out and doing further damage to it is a very high probability."
McVay said Watson, who signed a three-year, $51 million contract with the Rams in March has been "everything and that much more than we had hoped."
"He's been awesome," McVay said. "He's been playing through some different stuff, but he's been really productive. And it's unfortunate that that happened, but I know he wants to be able to play, but it's the right thing to do for him. And that's the tough part about this."
In seven games this season, Watson has an interception and 24 tackles. Watson gave up a 48.5% completion percentage as a nearest defender this season, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, which is the fourth lowest among players with at least 30 targets. The Rams will get some reinforcements at practice, as they have opened the practice window for star pass rusher Myles Garrett and tight end Terrance Ferguson, McVay said. They will both be listed as limited participants.
McVay said Garrett was expected to take half of the team's practice reps Wednesday. Garrett has been on injured reserve since having arthroscopic knee surgery in mid-September. He played in the Rams' season opener but said after the game that he was not 100% healthy.
"It's great to be able to get him back out there," McVay said. "And I think what we've said, just trying to stay just in the moment, one day at a time and it'll be good to be able to get him out there and get a good practice load, see how he feels, see how he responds. He's been doing a lot of good stuff kind of on his own and some of the drill work and then obviously with the rehab and we are certainly excited to get him back out there."