Texas A&M Professional Athletes

Myles Garrett's Knee Keeps Raising Flags

The story dominating Texas A&M's NFL week isn't a highlight — it's an absence. Rams defensive end Myles Garrett has now missed 12 or more practices with what the team has described as minor knee swelling, and the vague, persistent nature of the injury is drawing legitimate scrutiny as Los Angeles inches closer to its season opener.

"Minor knee swelling" is the kind of description that sounds manageable until it isn't — and 12 missed practices is well past the point where that label holds up without pushback. Garrett was widely expected to land in the top five of the NFL's Top 100 Players of 2026, a testament to where his peers rank him heading into the season. That makes his prolonged absence from the practice field all the more unsettling for Rams fans banking on him as the engine of their pass rush.

The Rams haven't placed Garrett on IR, and the organization hasn't sounded alarm bells publicly. A majority of Rams fans, per a FanReacts survey, say they aren't worried yet. But the silence around his timeline is itself a kind of signal — teams with truly minor injuries tend to offer more clarity, not less. Whether Garrett suits up for Week 1 is now a genuine open question.

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Mike Evans: Groin Scare, But Aggie WR Expects to Play

On the other coast, former Aggie Mike Evans missed a Tuesday practice with the 49ers due to a groin injury — not ideal for a receiver entering a new chapter of his career in San Francisco. The good news: Evans told reporters he expects to be available for Week 1, and follow-up reports indicated he was making progress by Wednesday. Fantasy managers can likely exhale, though the injury is worth monitoring through the final preseason week.

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Eluemunor Speaks Out in Giants Camp Drama

Giants offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor found himself at the center of an unlikely camp controversy — not for anything he did on the field, but for what he said off it. Eluemunor publicly pushed back against reports that Giants RB Cam Skattebo "started a fight" during practice, calling the narrative "BS" and defending his teammate. It's a footnote in the broader Giants camp story, but it put an A&M alum front and center in one of the week's more colorful sideshows.

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Around the League

Nnamdi Madubuike (Ravens, DE) received an encouraging update from Baltimore — the former Aggie is making progress in his ramp-up from injury and is trending toward availability, even as the Ravens deal with other roster concerns at center.

Von Miller (Cowboys, LB) officially signed a one-year deal with Dallas, reuniting him with a franchise where he spent time previously. The move drew attention leaguewide, with analysts breaking down what Miller — even at this stage of his career — adds to a Cowboys pass rush that needed veteran depth.

Trayveon Williams (Lions, RB) had a moment worth noting in the preseason: the former Aggie scored a touchdown as Detroit beat Washington 17–13, a small but clean cameo for a back fighting for roster positioning.

The headline for Aggieland, though, remains Garrett and that knee. Twelve practices is a long time to wait for answers. Week 1 is coming fast.

Von Miller Comes Home

The headline write for Texas A&M alumni this week belongs to Von Miller. The eight-time Pro Bowler officially signed a one-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys on August 16, returning to his home state for what figures to be one of the more emotionally charged chapters of a Hall of Fame-caliber career.

Miller, 37, arrives in Dallas as part of an aggressive defensive overhaul following the loss of Micah Parsons. The Cowboys are betting that his pass-rush pedigree — built across Super Bowl rings with Denver and Los Angeles — can stabilize a unit in need of a veteran anchor. Head coach and front office have already signaled the team isn't done adding, with Jerry Jones openly teasing further moves in free agency and via trade even after Miller's ink dried.

Miller was candid about his motivations. He detailed a conversation with Dak Prescott in Las Vegas before signing, expressing belief in the quarterback's ability to reach a Super Bowl. Prescott, for his part, gave a characteristically direct endorsement of the signing. Miller also moved quickly to put his stamp on the locker room in a lighter moment, making a "unique offer" to fullback Hunter Luepke to acquire the No. 40 jersey he wants to wear.

The one wrinkle: Miller's practice timeline is being managed carefully given his age and injury history. His full debut in Cowboys drills was still being mapped out as of late in the week, though the incentive-laden structure of his contract suggests Dallas built in performance benchmarks to protect itself.

A Familiar Face, Now in Atlanta — Briefly

Fellow Aggie Layden Robinson didn't have as clean a week. The offensive lineman was waived by the Atlanta Falcons. Robinson's release opens questions about his next landing spot, but for now the depth piece is back on the market.

Around the League

Two other Aggies worth watching had notable developments. In Los Angeles, defensive end Myles Garrett — acquired by the Rams from Cleveland in one of the offseason's biggest trades — is being held out of practice with a minor injury and is expected to miss roughly a week of work. It's a cautious approach in the preseason, and there's no indication of long-term concern, but Garrett's health will remain a storyline as the Rams integrate their prized new pass rusher heading into the regular season.

Meanwhile, wide receiver Mike Evans — now with the San Francisco 49ers — left a joint practice with the Chargers on Tuesday with reported tightness. Like Garrett, Evans's issue is not considered serious, and he was present at subsequent 49ers practice sessions. Still, for a receiver at his stage of a long career, any physical speed bump in August draws scrutiny.

And in a footnote that underscored just how heated Cowboys joint practices can get: Saints center Erik McCoy, another Aggie, was caught on video throwing a Dallas player's helmet during a session that devolved into seven separate altercations between the two teams. McCoy's involvement was brief but memorable.

It was, in short, a week where Texas A&M alumni made noise from multiple angles — none louder than Miller's return to the state where it all began.

Myles Garrett: Big Trade, Bigger Questions

The most talked-about defensive player in football arrived in Los Angeles this offseason, and he's already changing the landscape — even while standing on the sideline in street clothes.

Myles Garrett, the Texas A&M product who shattered the single-season sack record in 2025, missed multiple joint practices with the Dallas Cowboys this week due to knee swelling. Rams head coach Sean McVay provided updates both days, keeping the situation in the spotlight. Garrett himself downplayed the concern, telling reporters he's at "85 percent" — not exactly the confidence-booster a fanbase wants heading into the season, but not a red alert either.

What's remarkable is that Garrett's impact was felt even while he wasn't on the field. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott admitted he "definitely heard" Garrett jawing from the sideline during joint practice — a detail that says everything about the kind of psychological gravitational pull the Aggie pass rusher already carries in LA.

Then there's the Aaron Donald subplot, which borders on surreal. Garrett opened up this week on what it means to have Donald — the greatest defensive tackle of his generation — reportedly coming out of retirement, with Garrett himself serving as the catalyst. "The fact that my addition to the Rams made him want to get off the couch makes me think that he was always looking for a reason to get up — he just needed that spark," Garrett said. His new teammate Braden Fiske was equally effusive, declaring flatly: "Not all men are created equal."

The sack odds markets are already circling. Fox Sports posted futures on whether Garrett can repeat as the NFL's sack leader — a question that will follow him all season in a new defensive scheme, now with a potentially revitalized Aaron Donald beside him.

The knee bears watching. But so far, Garrett's Rams era is off to exactly the kind of loud, dramatic start you'd expect.

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Mike Evans: Managing Load in San Francisco

On the other side of the NFL map, fellow Aggie Mike Evans is in a familiar late-career situation: the 49ers are being careful with the veteran wide receiver during camp. Evans missed at least one practice due to what the team characterized as routine load management, though he was back on the field by midweek. Head coach Kyle Shanahan downplayed any concern, saying San Francisco is simply "being smart" with the wideout's health and fully expects him ready for the season.

Evans, now with the 49ers alongside teammate Christian Kirk, gives San Francisco a pair of Texas A&M pass-catchers on the roster — a quiet Aggie footprint in one of the NFC's most dangerous offenses.

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Shemar Stewart: Positive Signs in Cincinnati

Second-year pass rusher Shemar Stewart had given Bengals fans a scare after suffering a hyperextended knee earlier in camp, but positive injury updates emerged this week. Stewart, a former A&M standout, appears to be progressing and trending toward a return. For a Cincinnati defense counting on young edge talent to develop, the news is a relief.

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The big picture for Aggie fans: Garrett remains the headline act — a generational talent whose every move, even a sideline cameo with a bum knee, commands a news cycle. The supporting cast is quietly building depth across the league.

Two of Texas A&M's most decorated NFL alumni spent the opening week of training camp making news for what they weren't doing — practicing.

Myles Garrett: Back Scare, Then Relief

The most-watched Aggie in the league right now is Myles Garrett, and the first week of his tenure with the Los Angeles Rams nearly gave the fanbase a collective heart attack. Garrett missed four consecutive practices due to back soreness, prompting a wave of concern from a Rams organization that handed him a massive contract on the expectation that he'd transform their pass rush.

Head coach Sean McVay addressed the situation publicly, characterizing the issue as soreness management and not a structural injury concern. "We aren't worried," McVay said, framing the decision to hold Garrett out as a cautious, long-term play rather than a response to anything alarming. The messaging was clear: the Rams are protecting their investment, not reacting to a crisis.

That message landed with more authority when Garrett returned to practice Wednesday, ending the four-day absence and sending a wave of relief through Rams camp. Garrett himself kept it brief: "I feel good." His new teammates hadn't been shy about their excitement over his arrival even before the injury scare — multiple Rams players spoke about being awed by what the LA Times described as his "monster energy" during early camp sessions. One missed week of padded practice isn't going to dim those expectations. Los Angeles, already ranked by some outlets as the NFL's top offseason team, is banking on Garrett to lead a pass rush that could make a legitimate run at historic sack totals.

Mike Evans: Quad Strain Clouds 49ers Camp

Across the league in Santa Clara, the injury news for fellow Aggie Mike Evans was less tidy. The veteran wide receiver sat out of 49ers practice with a quad strain — one of several offensive skill players sidelined in what has become an early-camp infirmary situation for San Francisco. Ricky Pearsall is out for the season. George Kittle is working back from an Achilles tear. Christian Kirk — another Aggie on the 49ers roster — is also sidelined.

The timeline on Evans isn't locked down, though early reporting suggested the quad strain "could get resolved relatively quickly," offering some optimism that this doesn't become a prolonged absence. The range of outcomes, however, is wide: depending on the severity of the strain, he could miss anywhere from one week to multiple months.

For Evans, who signed with San Francisco this offseason after a long run in Tampa Bay, a slow start to camp is an unwelcome early chapter in what was supposed to be a fresh start.

Around the Rest of the Aggie NFL Roster

One more Aggie name to track: wide receiver Ainias Smith was released from the Panthers' injured reserve list via an injury settlement, per reports. The move effectively ends his time in Carolina for now.

The broader Aggie footprint across the NFL remains substantial — Devon Achane in Miami, Edgerrin Cooper in Green Bay, Nnamdi Madubuike in Baltimore, and Jake Matthews entering another year as Atlanta's veteran anchor on the offensive line among them. But this week belonged to Garrett and Evans, two A&M stars navigating the grind of an August that started with more uncertainty than either team wanted.