Rams Likely To Place Puka Nacua On IR

Nacua is dealing with an MCL/PCL sprain in addition to turf toe, head coach Sean McVay said on Monday (h/t ESPN’s Sarah Barshop). A move to injured reserve is likely coming as a result. An IR stint would require an absence of at least four games.

This is turning into a nightmare season for a team placed as the runaway Super Bowl LXI favorite before the season. Nacua already missed time with midsection issues this season but returned, and that reemergence has been pivotal due to Davante Adams’ hamstring injury. Adams is expected back later this season, but the Rams will likely need to wait longer than expected to reform the Adams-Nacua duo.

With Nacua going down two days before the deadline, a Rams team already exploring WR help has options. With Nacua headed to IR, the Rams will be without he and Adams for maybe a month. Considering the team has four losses in an NFC that features a 7-1 49ers team, four six-win NFC North squads and a 5-4 Seahawks operation, the Rams do not have much margin for error.

The Nacua injury may well change Los Angeles’ approach to the deadline, and this franchise — as evidenced by the 2026 trades for Trent McDuffie and Myles Garrett — is not shy about making buyer moves. Myles Garrett missed seven games with a knee injury, while Aaron Donald has missed time post-unretirement. Kobie Turner is on IR, and Jaylen Watson is out for the season. McDuffie also missed the Rams’ Week 9 win over the Commanders.

In another callback to the Rams’ injury-ransacked 2022 season, yet another starter — guard Steve Avila — is expected to miss time. McVay said the contract-year blocker sustained a hamstring strain and will miss “a little bit” of time. The Rams have managed to avoid O-line setbacks, for the most part, this season; Avila’s injury changes that and adds another position where injury concerns have interfered.

The Chiefs, Commanders and Steelers have been the teams most closely connected to Josh Downs. The 49ers, who are expecting Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel and De’Zhaun Stribling back, do not look to be a player there. But the Rams might be after this Nacua news. That would be a positive development for the Colts, who are believed to be aiming for a bit more than a fourth-round pick that is believed to already be on the table from an unknown suitor. With the Rams an NFC contender, a call to the Jaguars on Brian Thomas Jr. — who appears unlikely to be dealt to a Jags AFC threat — will probably be worthwhile.

Nacua had been dominant when available this season. Missing Week 3, he has still caught 70 passes for 715 yards and four touchdowns. With Adams out, Matthew Stafford had been leaning on Nacua during the Rams’ three-game win streak. Tutu Atwell and Konata Mumpfield are the next men up, but a gargantuan chasm exists between the Nacua-Adams tier and anyone else in L.A.’s receiving corps.

This also dings Nacua in a contract year, and although he has proven to be a No. 1 wide receiver, a Rams franchise tag could certainly be in his future based on injuries and some off-field headlines to come out over the past year.

Adam La Rose contributed to this post.