Puka

Nacua

Nacua has been out since Week 1 with a PCL injury and was placed on injured reserve. Various reports have had him missing lengthy periods of time and now Glazer’s report confirms he is expected to miss at least another month. With Cooper Kupp (ankle) also out, the Rams receiving corps is thin for Week 4 against the Bears and beyond. Demarcus Robinson is the top option, but none of the active Rams wideouts are an exciting play.

Kupp’s absence was expected, given his projected multi-week recovery timeline. The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue notes “Jimmy [Garoppolo] back in the backup spot at QB after his two-game suspension.” The Rams are exceptionally short-staffed with Puka Nacua also on injured reserve. They will likely try to eke out a win through a run-heavy offensive attack.

Nacua suffered a PCL injury in the Rams’ Week 1 loss to the Lions and has since been placed on injured reserve, sidelining him for at least four games. Sean McVay initially believed Nacua could miss just the minimum of four games. Now, according to Schefter, the Rams are likely to be more cautious with his return. Nacua will be eligible to return in Week 6 versus the Raiders after LA’s bye week. However, that looks unlikely and so does the following week. The Rams face the Vikings on Thursday, giving them a short turnaround for Week 7. A Week 8 date with the Seahawks looks like the earlier possible date for Nacua to get back on the field. Cooper Kupp will be loaded with targets until then. Demarcus Robinson and Tyler Johnson round out the team’s three-receiver rotation.

McVay said Nacua, Steve Avila, and Joe Noteboom all have “unique” injuries that could keep them out longer than the minimum of four games on injured reserve. It’s an ominous update for fantasy managers who took Nacua at the end of the first round. He suffered a sprained right PCL in the Rams’ Week 1 loss to the Lions after injuring the same knee during training camp. The Rams will pepper Cooper Kupp with targets until Nacua returns, putting him in the top half of the WR1 ranks going forward. Demarcus Robinson, now the team’s No. 2 receiver, is now a viable WR4.

Nacua will miss a minimum of four games. It means that even in the best-case scenario, Nacua will not return before Week 7 since the Rams’ bye falls in Week 6. It’s a brutal, brutal blow for fantasy managers, one the Rams will tend to with increased DeMarcus Robinson targets and apparently Tyler Johnson snaps. Rookie Jordan Whittington and Tutu Atwell will also be in the mix. That’s reasonably good depth, but everyone knows the true result will be as many targets as Cooper Kupp can handle. TE Colby Parkinson’s arrow is also pointing upward. For Nacua, it’s just the latest issue in an increasingly-lengthy injury history.

Schefter notes that Nacua is still undergoing individual testing. The results of that testing will obviously go a long ways into determining Nacua’s status going forward, but the wideout looked to be dealing with a good amount of pain before leaving the SNF overtime loss. If the 23-year-old wideout isn’t able to go, Cooper Kupp will again be a target hot in Week 2 against the Cardinals.

Nacua tried to play through the ailment on Sunday night against the Lions but was eventually carted to the locker room and did not return to action. It’s the same knee Nacua injured during training camp. Monday’s testing on the knee could give the Rams some kind of timeline as to when (or if) Nacua can return. With Nacua sidelined in Week 1, Cooper Kupp saw 22 targets, or a 50 percent target share.

Nacua tested his knee at the half and was eventually carted to the locker room before being ruled out for the remainder of the game. It is a bit worrisome that the injury appears to be an aggravation of the existing knee injury, which could result in some missed time for the second-year pass-catcher. Nacua caught all four targets for 35 yards and added seven yards on his lone carry prior to departing.

Nacua remained on the field following a short reception over the middle of the field in the second quarter. He struggled to the sideline before spending over 10 minutes with trainers in the blue medical tent. He reportedly got his knee re-wrapped before running on the sideline to test the knee. Nacua was present on the team’s injury report all week with the same knee injury. He managed to catch all four targets for 35 yards and added seven yards on his lone carry prior to departing.

Right tackle Rob Havenstein (ankle) is listed as questionable. Nacua suffered a knee injury early in camp but returned to practice before the end of the offseason. He practiced in full all three days this week before being cleared from the injury report. Nacua appears to be fully past the knee injury, locking him in as a low-end fantasy WR1 for the first week of the season. Though the Nacua versus Cooper Kupp debate raged all summer, a potential shootout with the Lions is a great spot for both wideouts to put up big numbers.