It’s something that Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay will have to closely monitor for the rest of the season and as long as receiver Puka Nacua remains on his roster.
The Rams’ star receiver is one of the best in the NFL – an explosive play waiting to happen. However, in his first three years with the Rams, Nacua has struggled to stay healthy, in part due to his physical style of play.
Things started well. Nacua appeared in all 17 games as a rookie, playing 1,000 offensive snaps. Nacua played through a rib injury during his historic rookie season and made it a goal to play even more offensive snaps in his second year. However, Nacua suffered a sprained PCL knee injury during training camp that forced him to miss six games in 2024.
This season, Nacua missed one game with a left ankle sprain he suffered trying to break up a pass in the end zone in a win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 6. Nacua got a chance to rest during the bye week, and McVay said he’s expected to play on Sunday at home against the New Orleans Saints.
“It’s never a good time to be injured,” Nacua told reporters this week. “But the bye did land at a great time to be able to rest, recover and get rejuvenated for this back half.”
An issue for McVay and the Rams is Nacua’s physical, rugged style of play and how to make sure he continues to perform at a high level while limiting his exposure to big hits that could lead to further injuries.
“You look at the things that are reflected in, why are we missing time if we are?” McVay said. “If they’re preventable, then let’s continuously look at that, communicate that and be able to pick and choose our spots. When you’re going up to try to break up a pass on a 50/50 ball and your ankle comes down weird, sometimes there are some freak things.
“I think the important thing is being mindful of the totality of the workload that we’re asking of him and being cognizant of that through 17 games. Then hopefully, you earn the right to be able to play after that.”
The Rams finished No. 23 in FTN’s Adjusted Games Lost in 2023, a metric that attempts to measure the aggregate impact of injuries on a given team for a given season. Last season, Los Angeles finished No. 1 with the best injury luck.
Reggie Scott, the Rams’ senior vice president of sports medicine and performance, established one of the best recovery and injury prevention programs in the league. This season, the Rams have just three players on the injured reserve list – wide receiver Tutu Atwell, cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon and linebacker Keir Thomas.
According to Next Gen Stats, Nacua’s 991 routes run since his rookie season in 2023 is No. 41 in the league. Nacua looks to Cooper Kupp’s triple crown and Super Bowl MVP season as the gold standard for a receiver with the franchise.
The Rams signed Kupp to a three-year, $81 million contract after that historic season that went through the 2026 season. However, the Rams released Kupp before the completion of the contract after he struggled to stay on the field because of nagging injuries developed over time as a physical receiver who consistently made tough catches in the middle of the field and served as one of the team’s best perimeter blockers in the running game.
This offseason, the Rams signed Davante Adams to a two-year, $44 million deal that includes $26 million in guaranteed money to replace Kupp.
Nacua, meanwhile, is the third year of a four-year rookie contract and is eligible for a new deal after this season. He’s third in the league in receptions (54) and fourth in receiving yards (616) so far this season, but his ability to stay healthy and productive will determine how much the Rams are willing to commit to their star receiver.
“What I think is good is sometimes you’re forced by nature of situations that arise to learn, how do we take advantage of the totality and are there some chances to be able to maybe take some snaps or things off him that allows other guys to still be able to be contributors?” McVay said. “We’re always trying to find that sweet spot. It’s a positive thing because he is such a productive player in so many phases.
“We do talk about those things in regard to the things that we can control to maybe limit the exposure to some of those possible injuries. Then there are occupational hazards that exist in this game. Sometimes you’re saying, ‘Could we have done anything to prevent it?’ I’m glad he went up and played DB [defensive back] in that situation. I’m bummed that he came down on his ankle weird. It’s a give and take.”
Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on X at @eric_d_williams.
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