Rams' Puka Nacua Seemingly Injured During Joint Practice

Nacua left practice early.

Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua appears to have sustained an injury during Sunday's joint practice against the Los Angeles Chargers. Nacua left practice early during team drills and did not return to play. While he did stay in his uniform and helmet, Nacua has a bag of ice wrapped around his knee, per The Athletic's Jordan Rodrigue.

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. He had a bag of ice wrapped around his right knee.

Sean McVay says he is “not sure” what happened.

— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) August 4, 2024

Head coach Sean McVay later said he was unsure of what happened to Nacua. It remains unclear what Nacua is dealing with and if he will end up missing time.

The Rams will hope that Nacua is okay, especially before the regular season begins. Nacua is coming off of an incredible rookie season for the Rams in which he was the team's leading receiver. In 2023, Nacua got off to a hot start, catching 25 passes for 266 yards in his first two NFL games. The fifth-round pick out of BYU went on to record 105 catches for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns over the course of the season, setting the NFL rookie receptions and receiving yards record.

Setting the receiving yards record was an especially impressive feat as the record had stood for over 60 years from when Bill Groman exploded for 1,473 yards as a rookie in 1960.

Nacua additionally set the rookie single-game receptions record, as well as the rookie single-game playoffs receiving yards record after recording 181 yards in the Rams' 24-23 wildcard loss to the Detroit Lions.

As a rookie, Nacua established a great connection with quarterback Matthew Stafford and helped propel the Rams' offense. Losing Nacua would be a big blow, as the Rams are hoping to have Nacua and Cooper Kupp on the field together all season for the first time.

We heard y'all wanted some @AsapPuka content from camp. 😏 pic.twitter.com/289bPRWftb

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 4, 2024

Kupp has missed time in each of the last two seasons due to injuries. He missed the first few games of 2023 due to a hamstring injury but returned for the rest of the year. Having both Nacua and Kupp on the field will make the offense much more dynamic. If Nacua is not ready to go, the offense will have to rely on Kupp as they are also missing top tight end Tyler Higbee, who is coming off a torn ACL.

In addition to a potential injury to Nacua, the Rams are dealing with several injuries along the offensive line. Jonah Jackson, Alaric Jackson, and Rob Havenstein are all currently "week to week."

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