On the surface, Rams receiver Puka Nacua isn’t clamoring aggressively for a new contract. With a new contract inevitable, Nacua has made some changes behind the scenes.
Nacua has switched agents in advance of something other than the non-negotiable, slotted deal he signed as a fifth-round pick in 2023.
“I did change agencies I think it was something for me, looking at the offseason and where I feel like I’ve been at in this past year,” Nacua told reporters on Wednesday. “Trying to reset and be able to refocus and reprioritize some of the things that I feel like are best for me. I’m grateful to feel like I have a team supporting me in all facets.”
Nacua will make $5.767 million in 2026. Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, drafted the same year as Nacua, set a new bar at $42.15 million in new-money APY earlier this year.
Nacua’s off-field situation does indeed complicate things. The lawsuit alleging that he bit a woman on New Year’s Eve could, in theory, spark a suspension — especially if he enters a diversion program in lieu of a possible prosecution.
A new deal done before that would have to account for a possible suspension, since suspensions typically void any remaining guarantees. Nacua’s camp would want a carve-out for that incident. The Rams, in turn, may want to pay him less in order to get it.
Regardless, he’s grossly underpaid for 2026. And he’s risking every day the kind of injury that would delay a second contract indefinitely.
Rams Clips
All signs continue to point to a potential return to the Rams by defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who retired after the 2023 season.
Everyone on the outside is thinking about what it would mean for the team. Folks on the inside are thinking about it, too.
“Obviously, I’d be really excited about that,” defensive coordinator Chris Shula told reporters on Wednesday regarding the possibility of Donald coming back. “You’re getting one of the best players of all time. I’ve had a great history with him. I was here in ’17, coaching other positions with him. I know what a great guy he is, what a hard worker he is, and what he would mean to this defense. But at the same time, we’re going to coach the guys who are here and if he decides to come back, that’d be great.”
Donald took the next step earlier this week, with a “tryout” during (we’re told) a day off for players at training camp. Shula wasn’t present for the session that was far less about evaluating Donald and much more about Donald seeing how he felt — with the goal of finding out if he can get back to being the great player he was.
What made him so great?
“I think it’s when you have the extreme talent and you have the work ethic to match, and the mentality to be great every single day,” Shula said. “When you put all that together, that’s what you get. You get one of the greatest of all time.”
It has Shula very much aware of potentially pairing Donald with Myles Garrett.
“I think I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it a little bit,” Shula said. “You’re anticipating, but at the same time, we’re putting it in the core of our defense right now. We’re building our defense step by step. If he decides to come, whenever that is, that’s not going to affect exactly how we’re doing it right now.”
If he returns, it will affect everything. Most importantly, it will throw opposing offenses for a loop as they try to figure out how to deploy blockers to slow down two of the all-time best defensive players to ever put on a helmet.
Nerves were a bit frayed among Rams fans in recent days, with defensive end Myles Garrett missing four practices due to back soreness. He’s now back.
“I feel good,” Garrett told reporters on Wednesday. “I’m allowed to get sore. I’m a little old.”
He was asked if he has missed practice due to soreness in the past, or whether this is a new dynamic.
“I don’t think it’s happened every training camp, but every now and then I get a bump or bruise,” Garrett said. “They’re just trying to make sure I get back to 100 percent.”
So, obviously, he was recently less than 100 percent. It sounds as if he’s close to being back there.
They’ve got time, both to get him ready and to get and keep him healthy. The first game of the season is a full five weeks away.
Aaron Donald did not intend to create more comeback speculation, but the defensive tackle did just that.
Donald worked out at the Rams’ training cap with Rams equipment, requiring the team to report his visit as a “tryout” on the NFL’s personnel notice Wednesday.
“Did it come across as a tryout?” Rams coach Sean McVay said in an appearance on the NFL Daily podcast. “Best tryout we’ve ever had. . . . I think he could make the team.”
The third-time Defensive Player of the Year wanted to see how he felt in a helmet as he considers a return to the NFL after a two-year absence.
“That was honestly our way of being able to get a workout with him within the parameters of what’s necessary,” McVay told NFL Network. "[Defensive line coach] Giff Smith said it’s the greatest tryout he’s ever had.”
The Rams’ acquisition of two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in June prompted Donald to consider unretiring.
Donald, 35, made 10 Pro Bowls in his 10 seasons and has 111 career sacks.
Myles Garrett returned to practice on Wednesday, according to multiple reports.
The Rams pass rusher had missed the past four practices with what coach Sean McVay called “lower body soreness.”
McVay said Sunday that Garrett’s absence was “nothing to worry about,” and it appears that’s the case.
Garrett played all 17 games each of the past two seasons and has missed only four games over the past six seasons.
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who the Rams acquired in a blockbuster offseason trade with the Browns, set the NFL’s single-season sacks record with 23 last season. He has 125.5 sacks in his nine NFL seasons.
When the Ravens rewarded receiver Zay Flowers with a new deal that carries a new-money average of $35 million per year, plenty of other receivers surely took notice.
The most obvious raised eyebrows belong to Rams receiver Puka Nacua and Cowboys receiver George Pickens. Nacua, who’s making $5.767 million in the final year of his rookie contract, has other issues that are complicating a long-term deal. Still, with each new big-money receiver deal that’s done, the absence of one for Nacua becomes more glaring.
With Pickens, the real question is whether the Cowboys will tag him again next year. At $27.298 million for 2026, the Cowboys could hold Pickens in place for $32.75 million in 2027 — still well below the top of the market. Surely, Jerry Jones will be inclined to do that.
But it’s not just the guys who haven’t gotten paid who will take notice of the Flowers deal. Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson, like Flowers, is at $35 million per year. All due respect to Flowers, he’s not Justin Jefferson.
Eventually, Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase will start to wonder whether he’s fairly paid at $40 million. Especially as more players who aren’t Ja’Marr Chase approach and pass his APY.
So, yes, the Flowers deal will make waves. The Drake London deal will make waves. Eventually, it will fuel a wave of contracts for other receivers who’ll see those deals and get ideas of their own that, given the market and the ever-increasing salary cap, are more than fair to have.
Aaron Donald’s comeback is getting closer and closer to becoming official.
As noted on the league’s daily transaction wire, Donald had a formal tryout with the Rams on Wednesday.
A league source told PFT that Donald worked out in a helmet and pads to see how he feels personally. It was not for the Rams to evaluate.
The organization’s leadership has been clear that if Donald wants to return, he will be welcomed in with open arms.
That time could be coming soon, as the Rams are set to wrap up their training camp at Loyola Marymount University this week and head back to their facility in Woodland Hills for further preseason practices. Head coach Sean McVay has said that Donald’s decision would likely come after the Rams got back to their regular practice spot.
If Donald felt good about his workout, then his return to being an active NFL player may be imminent.
The Rams drafted quarterback Ty Simpson at No. 13 overall in April to be reigning MVP Matthew Stafford’s successor.
That kind of situation can create some awkwardness between players. But according to Simpson, that has not at all been the case.
In a recent conversation with Taylor Lewan of the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast, Simpson noted just how much Stafford has helped him acclimate to the NFL as he sits and learns to begin his pro career.
“It’s the same thing I did in college, except it’s a different level,” Simpson said, via Cameron DaSilva of USA TODAY. “I’ve learned more ball in the last four months of being with him than I had in four years of being in college. He’s just so, like, cerebral. Just understands, and he’s so smart with everything.
“It’s so cool. I appreciate him so much because he’s been nothing but nice to me.”
Simpson is likely to see his first preseason action on Saturday, Aug. 15, when the Rams play the Chiefs to begin their exhibition slate.
As defensive tackle Aaron Donald focuses for now on whether he’ll end a two-year playing hiatus in pursuit of a second Super Bowl ring, he’s activating a longer-term vision for his post-football future.
Via Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, Donald has hired Jon Rosen of Envisionary to “grow his businesses, brand partnerships, and overall profile in the media and entertainment industries.”
Per Glasspiegel, Donald is currently developing a docuseries.
Earlier this year, Donald served as a guest analyst for NBC’s Super Bowl pregame show.
He has otherwise kept a fairly low profile since retiring after the 2023 season. It appears that Donald will be re-entering the public eye in a significant way. All that’s left to be determined is whether it’s as a player, as a media personality — or both.
Still, another season as a high-profile player on a franchise that will play at least seven prime-time games in 2026 will go a long way towards increasing his profile generally. Which becomes an even better way to fuel his looming foray into media and entertainment.
The Rams opened up their offseason by making a pair of moves to improve their cornerback group and the impact was on display during Monday’s practice.
Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson had highlight moments by breaking up passes from Matthew Stafford to wideouts Davante Adams and Puka Nacua. The offense rebounded with touchdown passes to both receivers before the defense came up with more strong plays on a back-and-forth day at Rams camp.
After it was over, Stafford said it was the best practice work he’s seen since entering the NFL in 2009.
“There was a a lot of high quality plays out there, plays that in the books will go down as good for the offense, and in the books it’ll go down as good for the defense,” Stafford said, via the team’s website. “Sometimes you just tip your cap. . . . as high quality of practice football as I’ve been around.”
All of that played out without defensive end Myles Garrett on the field due to lower body soreness and adding him to the riches that were already on display makes it easy to understand why the Rams are one of the favorites heading into the 2026 season.
