Puka Nacua‘s knee injury will keep him off the field for the next four weeks. Coach Sean McVay told reporters that the wideout will be placed on injured reserve. The Rams have a bye during Week 6, so the earliest Nacua can return to the field is Week 7.
McVay also revealed that Nacua’s latest injury is a continuation of a nagging knee issue that forced him to miss several weeks during training camp. McVay said Nacua aggravated his knee injury in a “more significant” manner (per Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic), and the wideout was officially diagnosed with a PCL sprain. The second-year wideout hauled in four catches last night before limping off the field during the second quarter. He briefly returned to the contest before exiting for good.
The 2023 fifth-round pick set the NFL rookie records for receptions (105) and receiving yards (1,486), earning him All-Pro and All-Rookie team honors. He only got into 12 games alongside Cooper Kupp in 2023, and the Rams will now be extra reliant on the 31-year-old wideout over the next month. Both Demarcus Robinson and Tyler Johnson saw increased roles following Puka’s exit on Sunday night, and tight end Colby Parkinson also contributed four receptions.
The Rams’ injury issues don’t end there. Offensive lineman Steve Avila suffered an MCL sprain and is also a candidate for injured reserve, per Rodrigue. Avila is also on track to miss at least four games, Rodrigue adds, even though the team has not yet placed him on IR yet.
The 2023 second-round pick earned All-Rookie team honors after starting all 17 games as a rookie, but he could end up missing a handful of weeks during his sophomore campaign. Avila started at left guard last night and was later replaced by sixth-round rookie Beaux Limmer, who bumped Jonah Jackson from center to left guard. Jackson will move back to LG, McVay said. The Rams signed Jackson to play left guard but shuttled him to center recently; a four-year Lions starter, Jackson played LG for nearly his entire time in Detroit.
Left tackle Joe Noteboom is week-to-week with an ankle injury. The lineman was limited to 27 snaps before being replaced by practice squad callup AJ Arcuri. Starting right guard Kevin Dotson didn’t miss a snap last night, but McVay said the lineman is day-to-day while recovering from a lateral ankle sprain.