diff --git a/ml/src/trainers/tft.rs b/ml/src/trainers/tft.rs
index e60d29db5..2b55e9ed3 100644
--- a/ml/src/trainers/tft.rs
+++ b/ml/src/trainers/tft.rs
@@ -945,7 +945,7 @@ impl TFTTrainer {
 
             // Apply QAT-specific learning rate schedule (if enabled)
             if self.use_qat {
-                self.apply_qat_lr_schedule(epoch);
+                self.apply_qat_lr_schedule(epoch)?;
             }
 
             // Training phase with OOM retry logic (note: data loader recreation not yet supported)
@@ -1110,8 +1110,21 @@ impl TFTTrainer {
                     }
                 }
 
+                // Drop optimizer to free 1100MB AdamW state (momentum + velocity buffers)
+                // This prevents OOM during validation by freeing GPU memory
+                let optimizer_backup = self.optimizer.take();
+                info!(
+                    "[MEMORY] Dropped optimizer before validation to free ~1100MB AdamW state"
+                );
+
                 let result = self.validate_epoch(&mut val_loader, epoch).await?;
 
+                // Restore optimizer for next training epoch
+                self.optimizer = optimizer_backup;
+                info!(
+                    "[MEMORY] Restored optimizer after validation"
+                );
+
                 // Memory profiling: Log GPU memory after validation
                 #[cfg(feature = "cuda")]
                 if self.device.is_cuda() {
@@ -2286,7 +2299,7 @@ impl TFTTrainer {
     /// Epoch 90:  0.1 * base_lr  (cooldown start)
     /// Epoch 99:  0.1 * base_lr  (cooldown end)
     /// ```
-    fn apply_qat_lr_schedule(&mut self, epoch: usize) {
+    fn apply_qat_lr_schedule(&mut self, epoch: usize) -> MLResult<()> {
         let total_epochs = self.training_config.epochs;
         let base_lr = self.training_config.learning_rate;
 
@@ -2310,17 +2323,34 @@ impl TFTTrainer {
         self.state.learning_rate = new_lr;
 
         // Apply to optimizer (if initialized)
-        if let Some(ref mut _opt) = self.optimizer {
-            // Update optimizer learning rate
-            // Note: candle_nn::AdamW doesn't have a direct set_learning_rate method
-            // In practice, we recreate the optimizer with new LR or use parameter groups
-            debug!(
-                "QAT LR Schedule - Epoch {}: {:.2e} (warmup: {}, cooldown: {})",
-                epoch,
-                new_lr,
-                epoch < self.qat_warmup_epochs,
-                epoch >= cooldown_start_epoch
-            );
+        // Check if LR actually changed before recreating optimizer
+        if let Some(ref opt) = self.optimizer {
+            let current_lr = opt.learning_rate();
+
+            // Only recreate optimizer if LR changed by more than epsilon (1e-10)
+            if (current_lr - new_lr).abs() > 1e-10 {
+                info!(
+                    "🔄 QAT LR Schedule - Recreating optimizer: {:.2e} → {:.2e} (epoch {})",
+                    current_lr, new_lr, epoch
+                );
+
+                // Drop old optimizer to free memory (~1100MB)
+                drop(self.optimizer.take());
+
+                // Update config with new LR
+                self.training_config.learning_rate = new_lr;
+
+                // Recreate optimizer with new LR (allocates ~1100MB)
+                self.initialize_optimizer()?;
+            } else {
+                debug!(
+                    "QAT LR Schedule - Epoch {}: {:.2e} (unchanged, warmup: {}, cooldown: {})",
+                    epoch,
+                    new_lr,
+                    epoch < self.qat_warmup_epochs,
+                    epoch >= cooldown_start_epoch
+                );
+            }
         }
 
         // Log major phase transitions
@@ -2331,6 +2361,8 @@ impl TFTTrainer {
         } else if epoch == cooldown_start_epoch {
             info!("🔽 QAT Cooldown Phase: Reducing LR to {:.2e} ({:.1}x reduction) at epoch {}", new_lr, self.qat_cooldown_factor, epoch);
         }
+
+        Ok(())
     }
 }
 
@@ -2538,14 +2570,14 @@ mod tests {
         let mut trainer = TFTTrainer::new(config, storage).expect("Failed to create trainer");
 
         // Test warmup phase
-        trainer.apply_qat_lr_schedule(0);
+        trainer.apply_qat_lr_schedule(0).expect("Failed to apply LR schedule");
         assert!(
             (trainer.state.learning_rate - 1e-4).abs() < 1e-9,
             "Epoch 0: Expected 1e-4 (10% of 1e-3), got {}",
             trainer.state.learning_rate
         );
 
-        trainer.apply_qat_lr_schedule(5);
+        trainer.apply_qat_lr_schedule(5).expect("Failed to apply LR schedule");
         let expected_mid_warmup = 1e-3 * 0.55; // 55% progress
         assert!(
             (trainer.state.learning_rate - expected_mid_warmup).abs() < 1e-9,
@@ -2554,7 +2586,7 @@ mod tests {
             trainer.state.learning_rate
         );
 
-        trainer.apply_qat_lr_schedule(10);
+        trainer.apply_qat_lr_schedule(10).expect("Failed to apply LR schedule");
         assert!(
             (trainer.state.learning_rate - 1e-3).abs() < 1e-9,
             "Epoch 10: Expected 1e-3 (full LR), got {}",
@@ -2562,7 +2594,7 @@ mod tests {
         );
 
         // Test normal training phase
-        trainer.apply_qat_lr_schedule(50);
+        trainer.apply_qat_lr_schedule(50).expect("Failed to apply LR schedule");
         assert!(
             (trainer.state.learning_rate - 1e-3).abs() < 1e-9,
             "Epoch 50: Expected 1e-3 (full LR), got {}",
@@ -2570,7 +2602,7 @@ mod tests {
         );
 
         // Test cooldown phase (starts at epoch 90 for 100 total epochs)
-        trainer.apply_qat_lr_schedule(90);
+        trainer.apply_qat_lr_schedule(90).expect("Failed to apply LR schedule");
         assert!(
             (trainer.state.learning_rate - 1e-4).abs() < 1e-9,
             "Epoch 90: Expected 1e-4 (10% of 1e-3), got {}",