According to the reporting of The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue on Thursday night, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver “Puka Nacua was scheduled for his weekly press conference today, but was not able to do it because he left practice with a knee injury, per a team official. He will be listed as “limited” on the injury report.”
Shortly after that report, Adam Schefter gave an update on the severity of that knee injury. “Rams WR Puka Nacua’s knee injury is not believed to be serious, per sources. His status on Sunday’s game at Seattle still is to be determined, but it does not appear to be any type of significant injury.”
Puka Nacua Officially Questionable Vs. Seahawks
On Friday morning ESPN’s Sarah Barshop posted to X.com, “Sean McVay on Puka Nacua’s knee: “Fortunately there’s nothing structurally . He’ll be listed as questionable, but I wouldn’t bet against this guy. My expectation is he’s going to do everything in his power to be ready to roll, and that’s the mindset that we have.”
Sean McVay said while the injury scare was not ideal, “it’s different” than the first two times Nacua has injured his right knee (joint practice vs. Chargers and then Week 1) “in regards to what the MRIs and what the scans show.”
Nacua had made his return to the field just last Sunday. The Rams lost their star receiver during their Week 1 game against the Detroit Lions. He strained his PCL in that game and was added to the injured reserve shortly after. He missed five games and the bye week, and returned against the Minnesota Vikings.
He initially injured his knee during a joint practice with the Los Angeles Chargers. The injury, which affected his bursa sac, occurred during training camp.
According to further reporting from Ms. Rodrigue, this injury is to the same knee. It is unclear if it is a new injury or another re-aggravation. Nacua was listed as a limited participant on the Rams injury report.
Nacua’s return, along with Cooper Kupp returning from a high ankle sprain, was the spark the team needed on offense to put up 30 points for the first time this season. Before that, they had averaged in the teens. Nacua caught seven of nine targets for 106 yards, including a 21-yard gain. He played 57 percent of the team’s offensive snaps against the Minnesota Vikings. He averaged 87 percent in the 2023 season.
