WOODLAND HILLS, Calif.––The Los Angeles Rams experienced a jolt of joy with the surprise return of wide receiver Puka Nacua last Thursday against the Vikings. Los Angeles, winners of their past two games, climbed back into the NFC West playoff picture.
But their joy may be short-lived. According to a Rams team official, Nacua, who was scheduled to speak to the media on Thursday, left practice with a knee injury and will be listed as limited. Nacua was seen assisted into a vehicle as he left the Rams facility and will undergo further evaluation. The injury is not believed to be serious.
Puka Nacua, the #Rams WR, missed his scheduled press conference due to a knee injury that caused him to leave practice, as confirmed by a team official. He will be classified as limited on the injury report. #LambsChop #NFL
— Eric Lambkins II (@elambsquared) October 31, 2024
Ahead of their Week 8 matchup against the Vikings, Nacua's counterpart, Cooper Kupp, who also returned to action against Minnesota after a stint on the injured reserve, was swirled around the league in trade rumors as a potential candidate to be moved at the deadline. However, Sean McVay silenced all rumors after their victory over the Vikings.
"There's a lot of information. Here's what I'll tell you. Teams reached out. Some of the things that I've seen out there, they're just not true," McVay said. "We've addressed that with those individuals. Teams have called about him and really, we let him know what the dialogue was there and then there's a lot of stuff out there where there's not a lot of accountability to the reports and that's unfortunate."
The tandem of Nacua and Kupp lifted the offense, with Nacua catching seven passes for 106 yards and quarterback Matthew Stafford passing 25 of 34 for 279 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.
Losing Nacua will place more strain on McVay, Stafford and Kupp to replicate the production of the ailing wide receiver.