NOVEMBER 3: Nacua is officially active for Week 9, a positive sign for the status of his knee. The Rams’ offense will welcome his presence in a key NFC West contest.
NOVEMBER 1: Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua exploded off of injured reserve with seven catches for 106 yards in Week 8, but his status for Week 9 is up in the air after sustaining a knee injury in practice on Thursday.
Nacua injured the same knee that forced him on injured reserve to start the season with a PCL sprain, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, causing plenty of concern in Los Angeles. The second-year wideout did not practice on Friday and will be listed as questionable for the Rams’ Week 9 tilt with the Seahawks, according to The Athletic’s Jordan Rodrigue.
Head coach Sean McVay insisted that there was no structural damage to Nacua’s knee, which has been hurt three different times over the past few months. McVay did not rule out Nacua for Sunday’s game and added that he doesn’t expect the injury to hamper his star receiver for the rest of the year.
If Nacua is unable to play on Sunday, the Rams will hope that Cooper Kupp can build on his positive return from injured reserve last week. The veteran wasn’t as explosive as his younger counterpart, but he still put together a statline of five catches for 51 yards and a touchdown.
Tutu Atwell and Demarcus Robinson, who have both stepped up in the absences of Nacua and Kupp to lead the Rams in receiving yards, will stay ready for a featured role in the passing game if Nacua sits out.