The Los Angeles Rams lost a key piece of their secondary Wednesday.

Cornerback Jaylen Watson needs shoulder surgery and will miss the rest of the season, coach Sean McVay said.

Watson aggravated the injury in the Rams' Week 8 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. He first dislocated the shoulder in Week 3 and missed the following game.

The right call

McVay said Watson wanted to keep playing. The team was told the chance of the shoulder coming out again and causing more damage was very high.

"He's been awesome," McVay said. "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."

A strong first year

Watson signed a three-year, $51 million contract with the Rams in March. McVay said he has been everything the team hoped for and more.

In seven games he had an interception and 24 tackles. Quarterbacks completed just 48.5% of their passes when he was the nearest defender, the fourth-lowest rate among players with at least 30 targets.

Help on the way

There was some good news too. The Rams opened the practice window for star pass rusher Myles Garrett and tight end Terrance Ferguson.

Garrett has been on injured reserve since arthroscopic knee surgery in mid-September. McVay said he was expected to take half of the team's practice reps Wednesday.