Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua missed practice on Thursday after leaving the joint practice with the Cowboys two days ago with an injury.
Sean McVay revealed that Nacua has psoas soreness, Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times reports. The psoas is a deep core muscle that is a primary hip flexor.
Nacua is expected back to practice next week, McVay added.
Pass rusher Myles Garrett also spent Thursday working off to the side with the Rams’ training staff. It was the seventh practice Garrett has missed with knee soreness.
The Rams remain confident that Garrett’s absence won’t linger.
McVay called Garrett’s knee at 85 percent on Tuesday.
Rams rookie quarterback Ty Simpson will make his preseason debut on Saturday against the Chiefs. But he will not be Los Angeles’ first signal-caller up.
Via multiple reporters, head coach Sean McVay said in his Thursday press conference that Stetson Bennett will start the preseason opener.
Bennett, a fourth-round pick in 2023, is currently in line to serve as Matthew Stafford’s backup, as Jimmy Garoppolo was not re-signed in free agency — though Garoppolo is still available.
Bennett has not yet appeared in a regular-season game. Last year, he completed 69 percent of his passes for 512 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions in the preseason, good for a 105.7 passer rating.
Simpson is set to come in at some point after Bennett. The Rams also have rookie Matthew Caldwell on their roster at QB.
The Rams have not played starters in the preseason under McVay for the vast majority of his tenure with the team.
Additionally, McVay noted offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase will serve as the offensive play-caller for Saturday’s game. McVay handles those duties for L.A. in the regular season.
Two of the Rams key players are not participating in Thursday’s practice.
Via Sarah Barshop of ESPN, both receiver Puka Nacua and edge rusher Myles Garrett are working out off to the side with Los Angeles’ training staff during the session.
While Garrett is dealing with a knee issue, Nacua’s injury has not yet been disclosed. Nacua exited the joint practice with the Cowboys early this week.
But the fact that both players are doing something during practice is an indication that neither is dealing with something too serious.
We’ll see if head coach Sean McVay delivers an update on either or both players after practice concludes.
Playing football presents a constant risk of injury. The rest of real life does, too.
Appearing on the Impaulsive podcast, Rams receiver Puka Nacua said he collided with a glass window pane at Michael Rubin’s white party earlier this summer.
“Uh, the glass window pane won,” Nacua said, via Oliver G. of USA Today.
Nacua wasn’t the only one who had an encounter with the obstruction at the annual (in most years) event hosted by the Fanatics founder.
“They made me feel better when they said three other people ran into it,” Nacua said. “But nobody else ended up bleeding from it. So I don’t know if that made me feel much better or worse.”
The injury dovetails with a recent remark made by Aaron Rodgers regarding “weird-ass parties” where everyone wears white, which Rodgers says he won’t be attending when he retires.
In Nacua’s case, the white ended up having distinct hints of red.
The Rams have added a linebacker.
Los Angeles announced on Thursday that the club has signed veteran Monty Rice.
Rice, 27, was a Titans third-round pick in 2021 out of Georgia. He’s appeared in 39 career games with 11 starts for Tennessee, New England, and Detroit. In the last three seasons, most of his playing time has come on special teams.
Rice appeared in one game for the Lions in 2025.
He also spent time in 2026 with the UFL’s Louisville Kings.
