Los Angeles Rams star wide receiver Puka Nacua left Sunday’s practice early that was also a joint session with the Los Angeles Chargers. Nacua would would leave “a little over an hour” in and didn’t return to participate, but was on the sidelines “in uniform and helmet” on according to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic as Rams head coach Sean McVay was “not sure” on what took place.
“Puka Nacua left practice a little over an an hour into it after a team drills period, and did not return to play but stayed in uniform and helmet on sideline,” Rodrigue wrote on her X, formerly Twitter, account. “He had a bag of ice wrapped around his right knee. Sean McVay says he is “not sure” what happened.”
There seems to be some mystery with what caused the injury, but the issue does seem to be somewhere in the right knee area as the bag of ice was on that part reportedly by Rodrigue. Even worse, it remains to be seen how severe or serous the injury is and if Nacua were to miss anytime of the regular season with the opener about a month away.
Nacua was electric for the Rams last season
Nacua was a superstar in his rookie season as filling in for the injury of star wide receiver Cooper Kupp for a majority of the time, the BYU product caught 105 passes for 1,486 yards to go along with six touchdowns. While the goal is to build off of that first year, it is not known if he will miss a significant amount of time as he played all 17 games last season.
The 23-year old is a great story as he was taken with the Rams’ 177th overall pick in the fifth round as a part of the 2023 NFL Draft and immediately shined right from the jump. In Week 1 last season against the Seattle Seahawks, he recorded 10 receptions on 15 targets for 119 yards and would even do better in Week 2 vs. the San Francisco 49ers where Nacua caught 15 passes on 20 targets for 147 yards.
Nacua could play anywhere on the field whether it be on the outside or in the slot which makes him a dangerous weapon for Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. Fans will hold their breaths as Los Angeles looks to improve after last season where they went 10-7 which put them second in the NFC West as they open the upcoming season on the road against the Detroit Lions, the same team that knocked them out of the playoffs.
