Wide receiver Puka Nacua is off to a great start for the Rams and the rookie should be able to continue it despite an oblique injury.
Nacua is listed as questionable to play against the Bengals on Monday night, but Rams head coach Sean McVay said on Saturday that the team expects Nacua to be in the lineup.
Nacua has 25 catches for 266 yards through two weeks of the season. No player has ever had more catches in the first two games of his NFL career and his 15 catches last Sunday are a single-game record for a rookie.
The Rams do not have any other players with injury designations for Monday night.
Before Week 2, the Rams placed rookie quarterback Stetson Bennett on the non-football injury/illness list. Coach Sean McVay offered no details at the time as to why Bennett was exiting the roster.
On Saturday, McVay likewise provided no details. However, he gave a general update on Bennett when asked whether McVay has stayed in touch with him.
“I have, yeah and he’s doing really well, which I was really encouraged to be able to hear,” McVay told reporters. “I’m not really sure on a timetable with anything and so that’s been the good thing. I got a chance to hear his voice and he sounds really good and that was really cool to hear.”
Bennett is required to miss at least four games while on NFI. The Rams selected the former Georgia quarterback in round four of the 2023 draft.
A.J. McCarron is back with the Bengals.
Cincinnati has signed McCarron to its practice squad after a tryout on Saturday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.
The Bengals drafted McCarron back in the fifth round of the 2014 draft. He started three games for the franchise in 2015, compiling a 2-1 record.
McCarron, 33, then spent time with the Bills, Raiders, Texans, and Falcons before playing with the XFL’s St. Louis BattleHawks earlier this year.
In 17 career appearances with four starts, McCarron has completed 63 percent of his passes for 1,173 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions.
Bengals starting quarterback Joe Burrow is questionable for Monday’s game against the Rams, but Cincinnati likely needed to bring in another quarterback anyway. Will Grier was on the team’s practice squad but signed with New England’s 53-man roster earlier this week, leaving the Bengals with just Burrow and Jake Browning in the building.
Then Cincinnati signed Reid Sinnett to the practice squad. He had been with the club during training camp and is the likely backup to Browning on Monday night if Burrow isn’t available.
The Bengals are listing quarterback Joe Burrow as questionable for Monday’s game with the Rams, head coach Zac Taylor told reporters after Saturday’s practice.
“We’ll see,” Taylor said, via James Repien of SI.com. “He’s [looked] good and we’ll take it day-to-day. We still have another 48 hours.”
Burrow did not practice on Thursday but was a limited participant on Friday.
Jake Browning will start if Burrow can’t play.
“He has embraced the opportunity,” Taylor said, via Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Part of the reason he’s where he’s at for us is his confidence. That’s really shown this week.”
With Burrow questionable, his status for the game might not be known until 90 minutes before kickoff when inactives are due.
Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase doesn’t want quarterback Joe Burrow to play. Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald fully expects to see him.
“I expect him to play,” Donald told reporters on Friday regarding Burrow. “I know he is a tough guy. So my mindset is he’s going to be out there healthy and playing how he needs to play. So our job is to go through this game plan, obviously practice it, get used to it, feel comfortable with it, understand what we need to do, and then execute it come Monday.”
It was Donald who slammed the door on Burrow and the Bengals at the end of Super Bowl LVI, getting to Burrow before he could notice that cornerback Jalen Ramsey had fallen down — and that Chase was wide open for a potential game-winning score.
“Fourth and one, find a way to win the game,” Donald (who should have been the MVP of the Super Bowl that year) said Friday about that moment. “That’s the one that sticks out obviously because that was the last play for us.”
Donald is ready to see Burrow again. Whether it’s Burrow or Jake Browning or even Reid Sinnett, Donald will surely do what he usually does. Wreak havoc, disrupt the interior offensive line, and generally (as Chris Simms says) f—k up the play.