Sean McVay Provides Massive Injury Update on Star Puka Nacua For Week 1

Ricardo Klein | Aug 30, 2024

Nov 19, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) celebrates with head coach Sean McVay after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Rams play football in a few days, and they will pick up right where they left off on Sunday Night Football. The Rams will play their first game of the 2024 season against the team that eliminated them in last year's playoffs, the Detroit Lions. 

The Rams will look to come out on top this time, and they will have one of their top wide receivers, All-Pro Puka Nacua, ready to go for them. 

Rams head coach Sean McVay said Nacua will be ready to roll for Week 1 next week. 

"He'll be ready to roll," McVay said.

The 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year runner-up will be ready to roll to get another shot at the Lions in the same venue. 

Nacua participated fully in practice earlier this week after struggling with a knee issue. The knee issue was never serious, but it did keep him out for some time. 

However, that seems to be a thing of the past for the 23-year-old as he is set to enter his second season as a pro. Nacua and the Rams' wide receiver core appear to be healthy and ready to go, with a little over a week until the games start to matter.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford is set to lead the charge and throw to the two guys he led to record-setting seasons in Nacua and fellow All-Pro Cooper Kupp. 

If things pan out, this will be the first season that we get to see a healthy Kupp alongside the likes of Nacua, who took the league by storm a season ago. If Stafford, Kupp, and Nacua can be healthy for the entire season and then some, this offense can be something special in no time. 

Although Nacua proved he was an elite wide receiver in 2023, the challenge now is to prove that it was no fluke. 

The former BYU Cougar is coming off one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time. Nacua recorded a rookie record for wide receivers of 105 catches, 1,486 yards, and six touchdowns in 17 games, leading L.A. to a 10-7 record and the sixth seed in the NFC. 

Although the Rams fell short of the Lions in the playoffs, Nacua played out of his mind, recording nine catches for 181 yards and one touchdown. L.A. and Nacua will look to pick up right where they left off and surprise even more people in the process. 

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