Rams receiver Puka Nacua faces allegations that he bit a woman multiple times. His lawyer seems to admit it to at least one bite.
Via TMZ, a woman filed a request for a temporary restraining order against Nacua, arising from an incident that allegedly occurred on December 31, 2025.
The woman claims that Nacua bit her thumb and then her shoulder. Her legal filing includes a photo of a circular bite pattern that allegedly belongs to Nacua.
In comments to TMZ, attorney Levi McCathern dismissed the conduct as “horseplay,” but seemed to admit that at least one bite occurred. McCathern downplayed it as leaving a “temporary mark,” as characterized by TMZ.
The woman separately claims that Nacua made an antisemitic remark earlier in the evening, which was described as the “first act in what became an escalating course of rude or vulgar, threatening, violent, and harassing conduct.”
Earlier in December, Nacua was goaded by a couple of YouTube nincompoops into making a gesture regarded as an antisemitic trope. Nacua claimed he had no knowledge that the gesture had antisemitic connotations.
McCathern denies that Nacua made antisemitic remarks.
The alleged victim also contends that, during a mediation session this month, Nacua’s legal team threatened to “contact TMZ and other press and media outlets and to disseminate false, inaccurate, and/or deliberately exaggerated public statements about the events of December 31, 2025.” McCathern, in turn, calls the whole thing a shakedown, and that she has asked for millions of dollars in damages.
The request for a temporary restraining order was denied. Another hearing is scheduled for April 14.
Rams Clips
The Cowboys are signing cornerback Derion Kendrick to a one-year deal, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports.
Kendrick, 25, spent time with the Rams and Seahawks last season, playing a total of 15 games. He totaled 10 tackles, two interceptions and five passes defensed while seeing action on 135 defensive snaps and 112 on special teams.
The Rams made Kendrick a sixth-round pick in 2022.
He missed all of the 2024 season with a torn ACL, but in four seasons, Kendrick has appeared in 47 games with 18 starts. He has recorded 102 tackles, three interceptions and 19 passes defensed.
Kendrick has not started a game since 2023.
The player most immediately impacted by the new Jaxon Smith-Njigba contract is Cowboys receiver George Pickens, who has seen the bar for his next deal move to at least $42.15 million per year — even though he’s boxed in by the $27.298 million franchise tag. Another player’s immediate financial future has been affected by the JSN contract.
Like Smith-Njigba, Rams receiver Puka Nacua has had three great NFL seasons. And Nacua has more catches (313 vs. 282), more yards (4,191 vs. 3,551), and more total touchdowns (21 vs. 20).
Both were unanimous All-Pro selections in 2025. Smith-Njigba won the offensive player of the year award. Nacua finished third.
Like JSN, Puka is eligible for a new deal. Unlike Smith-Njigba, Puka is entering the last year of his rookie contract.
Nacua is due to make $5.7 million in 2026, a number that has been increased over the slotted amount based on his performance to date. But that’s a far cry from the new market value.
A four-year contract with a $43 million new-money APY becomes a five-year, $177.7 million deal. It’s a $35.54 million per year value from signing.
On Monday, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network suggested that the Rams will wait to do Nacua’s deal until “further into the summer.”
Regardless of the time, Nacua shouldn’t set foot on a practice field until he gets his next contract. And the longer the Rams wait, the more expensive it will be. Especially if the Cowboys wake up from their chronic contractual foot dragging and drive the market even higher than it currently is by paying Pickens.
Ultimately, the market is the market. And the market keeps going up. Because the salary cap keeps going up. That’s the way the business works. The cap has exploded from $182.5 million to $301.2 million in only five years. And Nacua has proven his value.
Through three years, the Rams have gotten tremendous value. For those 313 catches, 4,191 receiving yards, and 21 total touchdowns, the Rams have paid $2.93 million — an average of less than $1 million per year.
It’s time to pay the piper. Or the Puka. Or whatever.
It never gets cheaper. That’s why the Seahawks moved when they did. And it’s why the Cowboys and Rams shouldn’t wait. The bar will keep going up. Pickens and Nacua should be the next two receivers to benefit from that simple NFL business reality.
The Rams have agreed to terms with defensive tackle Larrell Murchison on a one-year deal, the team announced.
Murchison, who turns 29 next month, has spent the past four seasons with the Rams.
In 2025, he played 16 games, seeing action on 126 defensive snaps and 44 on special teams. He totaled eight tackles, two sacks and three quarterback hits.
He missed the entire 2024 season after injuring his arm in the first preseason game and then, in his first practice back in early October, Murchison broke his foot.
Murchison has appeared in 39 games, with three starts, with the Rams, recording 32 tackles, 13 quarterback pressures, nine quarterback hurries, five tackles for loss, five quarterback hits and four sacks.
The Titans drafted him in the fifth round out of N.C. State in 2020.
In his career, Murchison has played 60 games with eight starts and has recorded 45 tackles, 16 quarterback pressures, seven tackles for loss and four sacks.
When it comes to paying star players, it never pays to wait.
The Cowboys learned that lesson (again) on Monday, when the market for the receiver position moved from $40 million per year to $42.15 million per year, thanks to the new contract signed by Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
That’s particularly relevant to Cowboys receiver George Pickens, whose path to free agency was blocked by the franchise tag. He’ll make $27.298 million without a long-term contract. And his desire to get a long-term deal will only become stronger, now that two other receivers have made it to the $40 million threshold.
The Cowboys and Pickens have until July 15 to get a multi-year deal signed. There has been no indication that any negotiations have begun. The Cowboys will likely push it to the deadline, while also lamenting Pickens’s absence from the offseason program.
Regardless, the price will keep going up. The Rams likely will be signing receiver Puka Nacua to a new deal, sooner than later. He’ll quite possibly be the next player to get to $40 million per year. That will make Pickens even more determined to get there.
No, delays never help get deals done. Especially since the Cowboys may have been able to get Pickens signed during the 2025 season for something less than $40 million per year.
Still, it’s on brand. They take too long to pay their stars. They did it with Dak Prescott. They did it with Ezekiel Elliott. They did it with CeeDee Lamb. They did it with Micah Parsons — and it blew up on them.
What will happen with Pickens? That’s largely up to the Cowboys. But the market is the market, and the market has once again changed. If the Cowboys truly want to keep him, they need to dig deep. If they keep dragging their feet, they’ll eventually need to dig ever deeper.
Last night, upon learning that the Rams have withdrawn two different rule proposals arising from the Seahawks’ crazy Week 16 two-point play, we asked the Rams if they had any comment on the development. They did not.
On Thursday morning, Rams president Kevin Demoff did.
“Withdrawn but not forgotten in today’s NFL you can pick up a ball after a play is whistled incomplete, turn around with it and walk back towards midfield and four minutes later have it count for two points,” Demoff tweeted.
The rule that granted the Seahawks two points after a backward pass was deflected past the line of scrimmage and recovered casually by running back Zach Charbonnet isn’t new. But it very rarely happens.
Making the situation worse (for the Rams) was the long delay in activating the replay process, thanks to the league not realizing it until Prime Video rules analyst Terry McAulay alerted NFL rules analyst Walt Anderson to the possibility that the ruling on the field of an incomplete pass was erroneous. Regardless, the league eventually got it right.
If Demoff still feels so strongly about the outcome, why withdraw the proposal? Force a vote on it. Require everyone in the room to say “yes” or “no” as to whether it makes sense to allow a backward pass to pinball forward and be recovered (and potentially advanced) under the specific circumstances the Holy Roller rule was designed to address.
Without action, Demoff’s complaint rings hollow. If you don’t like the rule, fight it. Propose a change every year. (Until, of course, the same thing happens in another game and it works to the Rams’ benefit.)
Regardless, the coaching point remains as clear now as it was then. If there’s a loose ball, pick it up. While that could potentially lead to an uptick in injuries when a mad scramble ensues for any bouncing ball after the whistle is blown, the situation flows from the change to the rules following a 2008 Chargers-Broncos game that killed the play the moment a Jay Cutler fumble was deemed on the field to be an incomplete pass but couldn’t be awarded to the Chargers, who had recovered the ball, after replay corrected the call.
The only sensible fix is to ensure that the officials don’t prematurely end a play when the ball hits the ground. Swallow the whistle and see who emerges with possession. Replay can fix it later — even if those situations result in more contact and more potential injuries.
The Rams have withdrawn a pair of proposed rules changes related to the two-point play that helped cost them a game against the Seahawks during the 2025 regular season, but one of the team’s top executives has signaled that they’ll support another proposal that’s on the table this offseason.
The Browns have proposed expanding the window to trade future draft picks from three to five years and Rams president Kevin Demoff explained on X.com why he believes that is a good idea.
“Nothing creates more interest in the NFL than trades,” Demoff wrote. “This is why Cleveland’s proposal to allow teams to trade picks up to 5 years out as opposed to 3 years out makes so much sense. More picks to trade = more trades = more interest & team building options.”
The proposal will need 24 total votes from the league’s teams in order to pass. Demoff’s comments suggest that there might be more momentum out there for the change.
The nutty two-point play that forged a fourth-quarter tie in the Week 16 game between the Seahawks and the Rams resulted in a pair of proposed rules changes from the Rams last month.
Those proposals now have been withdrawn.
One focused on the unusual mechanics of the play. A backward pass thrown by Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold was deflected past the line of scrimmage, making it a live ball that could be recovered by Seattle running back Zach Charbonnet for a touchdown. The Rams wanted such situations to be treated like a fumble in certain situations (fourth down, within the final two minutes of each half, during a try), which would have in that specific circumstance wiped out the two points.
The Rams also proposed a 40-second limit for the initiation of replay review, given that 100 seconds passed between the recovery of the loose ball by Charbonnet and the announcement by referee Brad Allen that the play would be reviewed. As PFT reported last month, the league became aware of the possibility that the ruling on the field of an incomplete forward pass should be reviewed after Prime Video rules analyst Terry McAulay called NFL rules analyst Walt Anderson.
The proposals likely would have had a hard time getting to 24 votes, which could be the most obvious explanation for the withdrawal. Either way — and despite the impact of the play on the game and, potentially, the outcome of the season — it’s not something that will happen very often. And the coaching point remains clear: If there’s a loose ball in the playing field, pick it up.
For those of you who follow this space closely (and thank you for that), this news isn’t news. Regardless, the NFL has announced something you already knew.
The proposals to be considered by owners at the NFL’s annual meetings coming later this month in Phoenix include two made by individual teams.
The league posted on Twitter the proposals from the Steelers and Browns. Pittsburgh wants to make permanent the one-year change that gave teams the ability to speak directly to up to five unrestricted free agents during the negotiating window, and to make travel arrangements during the pre-free agency period. Cleveland wants to expand the range of draft picks that may be traded from three years to five.
Both proposals will require 24 votes to pass.
The league also said that the 2026 proposals from the Competition Committee will be revealed next week.
Not mentioned were the Rams’ proposals arising from the nutty two-point play in their Week 16 overtime loss at Seattle. We’re currently checking to see whether those proposals remain on the table, or whether they were withdrawn.
The Seahawks will open the season on Wednesday, Sept. 9, rather than on the first Thursday of the season as is usual, Joe Flint of the Wall Street Journal reports.
It has been known for more than a month that the Super Bowl LX champions might start on Wednesday, with the NFL also playing a Week 1 game in Australia. The Rams and 49ers will play in Melbourne to open the season. The Seahawks’ opponent is not yet known, with the NFL to release the schedule in May.
But it was uncertain which game would take place on which day.
The Seahawks’ game, which NBC will televise at 8:20 p.m. ET, will mark only the second time in 75 years that the NFL has opened its season with a Wednesday game. The Cowboys and Giants played on a Wednesday in 2012 to avoid a conflict with Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.
The Wednesday night game will create a conflict in Seattle, with the Mariners and Sounders also scheduled to play that night. The Major League Baseball team and the Major League Soccer are expected to reschedule their games.
The Seahawks will play the Cardinals, Cowboys, Giants, Bears, Chiefs, Chargers or Patriots in the season opener.
The NFL is unable to play a game on Friday in Week 1 this season. Under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, the NFL is banned from televising games on Friday night or Saturday from the second weekend in September through the second weekend in December. The way Labor Day fell in 2024 and 2025, the league was able to play games on the Friday of opening weekend.
