The Rams already had one major wide receiver problem on their hands. Now they may have another.
Puka Nacua was forced out of practice early on Thursday after coming down with a calf injury, leaving his Week 7 status up in the air ahead of Los Angeles’ game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Adam Grosbard of the LA Daily News reported that Nacua was limited after leaving practice.
“Rams WR Puka Nacua left practice early with a calf injury. He was limited today,” Grosbard reported.
That limited designation is typically what follows when a player exits practice with an injury, and for now it puts Nacua firmly in question for Week 7. The severity still isn’t known, and there’s no real clarity yet on whether this is a short-term issue or something more serious.
The next update should come Friday, when head coach Sean McVay speaks to the media and the Rams release their final injury report with official designations. For the moment, though, Nacua looks like he’s heading toward questionable at best.
Los Angeles is already dealing with a battered receiver group. Davante Adams is expected to miss six to 10 weeks after suffering a hamstring injury late in the team’s Week 6 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, and that alone has left the room thin.
If Nacua can’t go, the Rams would be staring at a very shaky depth chart. Their other options include Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield, CJ Daniels, Alex Bachman and Tutu Atwell.
That’s also why the conversation around a possible trade has picked up. McVay has said the team hasn’t discussed making a move, but ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported that the Rams will “at least explore the possibility of trading for a wide receiver in the wake of Davante Adams’ hamstring injury.”
If Nacua is also out for any length of time, the urgency in Los Angeles only grows. The Rams are clearly all-in on this season, and their margin for error at receiver is getting awfully thin.
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