Sean McVay is expecting Puka Nacua back on the field next week, and that’s the clearest sign yet that the Rams star wideout is on track to play against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne on Thursday night.
Nacua has been working his way back from a core muscle injury suffered three weeks ago, and the progress has been strong enough that Los Angeles looks likely to have its All-Pro receiver available for the NFC West matchup. The Rams are also navigating a much bigger off-field cloud around one of their biggest names, with Nacua still waiting to hear whether the NFL will hand down any discipline tied to his turbulent offseason.
That offseason has been packed with legal and personal issues. Nacua, 25, has been accused in a high-profile civil lawsuit of biting a woman on the shoulder and making an “unprovoked” antisemitic statement during a drunken New Year’s Eve encounter. NFL Insider Adam Schefter said last month that Nacua, who also checked into rehab during the offseason, could be facing a league suspension over the situation.
The scrutiny deepened earlier this week when his ex-girlfriend, Hallie Aiono, spoke publicly about the relationship and the impact it had on her mental health. In a TikTok video explaining why she decided to seek professional help, Aiono said, “I went from loving somebody so deeply for four years, I felt it in my bones, to experiencing extreme betrayal, abuse, complete neglect from them, in what felt like it happened almost overnight.”
She added, “A lot of the things that were public affected my mental health. But honestly, the things that were happening in private are what completely crushed me and altered my brain chemistry. Those parts, what people never saw, or know of, are what broke me.”
Aiono and Nacua began dating in 2021, when she was a student at Brigham Young University and he was starring there after transferring from Washington. She later watched his NFL rise from close range, including his breakout rookie season in 2023, when he set the rookie receiving yards record after being selected in the fifth round.
Their relationship later unraveled during her pregnancy, leading to a paternity dispute. In June 2025, Aiono filed a petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court asking to confirm Nacua as the father of her unborn child, seeking full physical custody and joint legal custody with visitation rights. She later announced the birth of their son, Kingston, in December 2025, posting a picture of Nacua holding her hand and then the two of them with their son.
Nacua has been more open about his own offseason reset, even if he hasn’t discussed the legal specifics. In May, he said rehab gave him “a moment for me to learn from some of the situations I was putting myself in and then also having just an awareness of how I'm conducting myself in and out of this football field.”
He also said he has been working with a Rams therapist and attending weekly meetings as part of an effort to bring more structure to his daily routine. “Little did I know that even just writing in a journal, as simple as that, and finding ways to express some of the things I have near and dear to my heart... it's been a great improvement in my life,” Nacua said.
“I've been really grateful for the support from the organization, especially my teammates. People reaching out at different times of the offseason, just checking in.”
He continued, “Some of the things I feel like I've learned is it's OK to ask for support and then to recognize the platform that I have and being a professional football player and trying to use that for the betterment of myself and for those around me.”
Nacua also revealed he ended up covered in blood after running into a glass door at a lavish white party hosted by billionaire Michael Rubin.
Now he’s heading into his fourth season with the Rams in the final year of his rookie contract, coming off a monster 2025 campaign that saw him lead the NFL with 129 catches and finish second with 1,715 receiving yards.
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