Sean McVay got the answer Rams fans wanted on Sunday: Puka Nacua is expected to be out there when Los Angeles opens the 2026 season against the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday.
Nacua has been working through psoas soreness leading into Week 1, but McVay’s update pointed to the wide receiver being ready to go. That matters even more with the Rams set to take on San Francisco in a marquee opener at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia.
There is still another layer hanging over Nacua, too. He is facing possible discipline under the NFL’s personal conduct policy for previous off-field behavior, but that issue does not appear to threaten his availability for this game against the 49ers.
For the Rams, keeping Nacua on the field is a big deal. The team grabbed him in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft, and he has quickly turned into one of their most important players. He already owns two Pro Bowl selections and has piled up 4,191 yards and 19 touchdowns on 313 receptions over three NFL seasons.
Last year, Nacua led the league with 129 catches.
The Rams and 49ers are set to kick off at 8:35 p.m. ET, with Los Angeles serving as the designated home team in what will be the first NFL international game in Australia.
And if the Rams are going to live up to the Super Bowl buzz around them, Nacua is going to be right in the middle of it. He’ll be working with veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, last season’s MVP, and that connection could be one of the biggest reasons Los Angeles has a real shot at getting all the way to the Lombardi Trophy.
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He has been a full participant in training camp and is already being viewed less like a headline add and more like a useful piece who can help in several spots. Receiver, running back, special teams - Samuels value is in the variety, and for a team that had to patch a real depth issue, that kind of versatility can quickly make the conversation around him feel a little different than it did when he first arrived back in the building. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Depth Battle Could Create New Trade Chips Fast
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Names like Jones, Samuel, Alfred Collins and Bethune are the kinds of players who can quickly go from roster depth to trade conversation if performance, role and outside interest line up the right way. Nothing is imminent, and any move would depend on another team coming calling, but this is exactly how a contender can turn a crowded roster into a source of midseason flexibility. [Read more 🡒]
George Kittle Just Changed The Feel Of Rams Week 1
George Kittles recovery has quietly become one of the biggest subplots of 49ers camp, and it now has real Week 1 implications. After tearing his Achilles in the playoffs, the veteran tight end traveled with San Francisco to Australia and has kept moving in the right direction since being activated from the physically unable to perform list on Aug. 23. The signs have been encouraging enough that his availability for the season opener against the Rams no longer feels like a distant hope.
The 49ers also trimmed the tight end room by cutting Brayden Willis, a roster move that only adds to the sense that the team expects Kittle to be in the mix when the games start counting. He has stacked together positive practice days leading into the opener, and the picture around him has shifted from uncertainty to cautious optimism. For a San Francisco offense that leans on Kittle as both a playmaker and a tone-setter, his status changes the feel of this matchup before it even kicks off. [Read more 🡒]