The Los Angeles Rams got yet another injury scare from star wide receiver Puka Nacua when he hurt his knee at a practice this week preparing for Sunday’s battle against the Seattle Seahawks. He has been dealing with issues from the same knee all season long, and it looked for a moment as though this could be another long absence after finally returning last week.
Nacua’s impact on the Rams was felt instantly against the Minnesota Vikings last week. In his fist game since Week 1, Nacua caught seven passes for 106 yards and was instrumental in a surprise victory over a 5-1 opponent. It put the Rams right back in the thick of things in the NFC West.
However, he appeared to tweak the knee injury and left the Rams’ practice on Thursday, leading to cause for concern for the star wide out.
However, it does not appear that Nacua will need another extended absence to deal with this knee injury, according to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic:
Puka Nacua “banged his knee” in practice but Sean McVay says there is no structural damage from the contact with the ground. He won’t practice today and will be questionable for Sunday but McVay is not counting out the potential that he plays.
— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) November 1, 2024
The report continues to say that head coach Sean McVay does not believe this is an injury that Nacua will have to manage throughout the year and that he could even be good to go Sunday. But with knees, things are always tricky and worrisome.
Given how important Nacua is to the explosiveness of the Rams offense, the team needs him to both be on the field but be cautious for the long term. If they feel that trotting him out there on Sunday against the Seahawks could risk further injury, it may be best to hold him out for a week.
But as McVay says, Nacua is a tough player, and it would not be surprising to see him work through it in Week 9.
Too early to tell if Rams will be buyers
The Rams got off to a poor start this season but have since won two consecutive games to climb back into the playoff picture.
At 3-4, the Rams are just a half game out of first place in the NFC West and now could potentially become buyers ahead of the Nov. 5 trade deadline.
However, McVay cautioned that it is still too early to tell if that will be the case. If the team does go that route, they could look to acquire some help at inside linebacker.
