(East Los Angeles, CA) [From The Editor’s Desk]: As the clock winds down to the Rams playing their three allotted NFL 2026 pre-season games, operations continue as usual at the team’s Training Facility in Rams Village, Woodland Hills. Below is the transcript of Head Coach Sean McVay’s Tuesday media session, delivered from the podium to the patiently waiting group of reporters.

Coach McVay touches on many topics, including the status of Aaron Donald, updates on Myles Garrett, Davante Adams, Rookie QB Ty Simpson, Rookie tight end Max Klare, offensive lineman Justin Dedich, and several other players. He also speaks about the joint practice with the New Orleans Saints, his thoughts on getting set to travel, and his evaluation of Special Teams. Following Coach’s usual approach, he often provides detailed responses depending on the questions asked. This transcript format offers a valuable opportunity to learn from his insights.

It’s encouraging that our followers are among the most dedicated fans, consistently reading these detailed transcripts that provide valuable insights into the team and its weekly preparations for the upcoming season, as analyzed by Head Coach McVay.

Rams Transcripts – Head Coach Sean McVay – 8/18/26, Tuesday

[Head Coach Sean McVay]:

(On whether there are any new updates on Aaron Donald)
“Nope, nothing new on him.”

(On what he meant by ‘having to learn’ DE Myles Garrett while dealing with his knee)
“It’s really more how Reggie and our medical group are establishing trust and rapport. He’s tough as hell and he wants to be out there, we just want to make sure… It is gaining experience. I think foundation of all good relationships and really trust is built over time and that’s what I meant by that.”

(On what he’s learned about Garrett as a human)
“He’s got a lot of range, a lot of different interests. He’s a great human being, comes from a great family. It was awesome to be able to meet his parents. You can see why he is the caliber of young man that he is. This is a guy that loves football, has a great feel for the game, very nuanced in terms of when you talk about the lens that he sees the game through, but he’s also got a lot of other interests. It’s cool just listening to him talk about things outside of football that give him the range and it’s really impressive and I’ve enjoyed getting to know him.”

(On what he’s looking for going into Thursday’s joint practice with the New Orleans Saints)
“I bet you could answer that question for me. It’s really the same thing that I said last week with Dallas. I want to see us continue to take steps, challenge our rules. They’re going to be a little bit more similar defensive structure wise to us, but you can make the case that Dallas was in some instances, in some of their base mechanics. A chance to go against different operations, offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. I want to see the same things that I saw last week, but I want to see us continue to improve. I thought today was a good opportunity for us to take a step in the right direction. We talked about just the importance based on, now that we have preseason games, of maximizing these practice reps, especially for the guys that don’t play in the preseason games. You got to have them mandated an allotted day off. I thought we got a lot out of today. Yesterday there were some things that I wish we could have started a little bit cleaner and been crisper with the overall, but it’s never for lack of the right intent from our guys. Today was a good, high level of execution really on both sides of the football is what I felt and that’s what I’m looking for on Thursday as well.”

(On where Offensive Lineman (OL) Justin Dedich is in the recovery process)
“He’s good. He is actually able to start doing some different things where he’ll put a cast on that will allow him to be able to participate. Now, whether or not we take him off the NFI (Non-Football Injury) list and he actually starts rejoining us, we’re going to see how he feels doing some different things with [Sr. VP of Sports Medicine and Performance] Reggie [Scott] and [Director of Strength & Conditioning, Justin] Lovett and those guys. I was actually talking to him yesterday. He’s feeling really encouraged about the progress he has made and then we’ll see what his caliber of play looks like relative to being able to compete with that cast on. No new news, but he is making really good progress and whether or not we take him off that NFI list will be predicated on how the next week goes, if you will.”

(On where Tight End (TE) Davis Allen is in the recovery process)
“He’s good. He is making good progress. He’s able to start doing some different things. You’re seeing him do running. I would expect him to be back within the next week. We don’t feel like, unless there’s a setback, there isn’t any threat to the San Francisco game. With the way that he plays, he’s a big important part of our offense and so it’ll be great to be able to get him back out there. In the meantime, some younger guys have gotten reps that they wouldn’t have otherwise gotten, but we’ll look forward to getting Davis back for sure.”

(On what he saw from rookie Tight End (TE) Max Klare in the first preseason game)
“I thought he did well. He made the catches with the targets that were there. I thought he did a nice job getting his hands inside in the run game. Some different defensive structures and techniques that we haven’t really seen from our defense just based on the front mechanics that Kansas City was playing. I thought he took a really good step in the right direction and I think he’s been the guy that has really benefited the most from reps that he wouldn’t have gotten otherwise in Davis’ absence. I think the level of play from that group as a whole has raised his play. I’ve mentioned [TE Coach] ‘Scooter’ [Scott Huff] does such a great job, but you’ve got ‘Higs’ [TE Tyler Higbee], you’ve got [TE] Colby [Parkinson], [TE] Terrence Ferguson is doing a great job for us and Max has gotten a lot of quality reps with that first group.”

(On whether there are any updates on WR Puka Nacua)
“No news on him. No updates on Puka.”

(On the mindset rookie QB Ty Simpson should have when getting a limited number of reps)
“I think you just said it where it’s really let’s be intentional, let’s maximize the reps. It’s not about, ‘Oh I didn’t get this.’ It’s ‘Let’s maximize. If it is seven reps, if it is 17, if it is 27.’ I think what was a cool reflection of Ty’s preparation working hand in hand with [Associate Coordinator/QB Coach] Dave Ragone was even though he hasn’t gotten a ton of reps throughout training camp and even in the offseason program, he did a great job of coming in. I thought his huddle command was excellent, his ability to articulate the plays and the way that our operation was and then he made the decisions that good quarterbacks make. I thought he delivered the ball on time and in rhythm. He’s done a good job the last couple days in practice and so biggest thing, like what you said, let’s maximize the reps that you do get. Let’s be totally present. Then if you’re not getting those physical reps, what can you do to be able to get the mental reps so that when those physical reps come, you’re able to handle the things that you can’t control?”

(On his relationship with WR Davante Adams)
“I have such respect for what he’s done and the way that he looks at this game. He sees the game through the lens of a quarterback and really as a coach. There’s a lot of love for the players on this team, but there’s a lot of love that I have for Davante Adams. He’s one of those guys that inspires me to bring it every single day. He brings it every single day, whether it’s on the practice field or on game day and I love everything he’s about. He brings a great amount of swag to our team. I love just making sure that our guys feel like we’re in it with them. That’s authentic to my personality, but he’s an easy guy to be able to work with. He makes it fun for me as a coach.

(On his philosophy on the team’s travel)
“I would say the essence of what it really comes from is what we learned in COVID that the more that we can keep guys in their normal rhythm and routine, the better off. And then there are certain things based on time zones, time allotted to adjust your circadian rhythm, but I’m a big believer that, how long can we keep our players in a comfortable rhythm? Some of those things are outside of my area of expertise that I’ve been educated on, but everything that we do is geared towards what we think is best for our players and that’ll always be the case as long as I’m fortunate enough to be the coach here. Whether it’s traveling from West Coast to East Coast, whether it’s staying in Baltimore and traveling a little bit later than most teams are accustomed to in London, what we do believe in is doing our research, trusting the people that are responsible for giving us the information and then ultimately making the decisions that are best for our players. They’ve done a really good job of being able to handle it. I know it’s after the fact, but it was a great thing in London because our guys played well and we had the result. Everything goes back to what we learned in COVID where we used to travel on Fridays instead of just being mandated to travel Saturday. Then it’s evolved a little bit ever since.”

(On his impressions of the special teams unit since camp started and what gives him confidence)
“I think number one, we’re going to have a lot of guys that we’re counting on, really on offense and defense, to be more involved in that phase of it. I think that subconsciously communicates the importance. I think some of the moves that we’ve made, the time that we allocate on the practice field, in the meeting rooms. I think it’s a great testament to the leadership that I feel from [Special Teams Coordinator] Bubba Ventrone and from [Asst. Special Teams] Kyle Hoke. The guys have bought in. I think that’s one of the things that you talk about the areas of improvement. Make no mistake about it, I was responsible for why things didn’t go as well as they should have and that is nobody’s fault but my own and you want to be able to look inward and then make sure that you’re giving autonomy to the right people, putting guys in a position, and then are you subconsciously communicating how important that phase is? This game has been drastically affected by that phase, especially with the uptick of overall active plays that you have in special teams with where the kickoff and the kickoff return changes. I’ve been really pleased with it. I like the way that our communication and the way that our guys competed in that game even though there are a lot of guys that weren’t participating that we’ll be counting on. I’ve been pleased with it and then we’ve got to continue to take steps one day at a time.”

–RAMS–