The Los Angeles Rams are placing star wide receiver Puka Nacua on injured reserve, head coach Sean McVay told reporters on Monday.
Nacua re-aggravated a summer knee injury in Sunday’s season opener against the Detroit Lions, and will now miss at least the next four games. McVay revealed that he had a sprained PCL.
The Rams’ next four games are against the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, and Green Bay Packers. The Rams then have a Week 6 bye, meaning the earliest Nacua could return is Week 7 (Oct. 20) against the Las Vegas Raiders.
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Nacua left Sunday night’s game in the second quarter with an apparent knee injury. He was originally listed as questionable to return, but was then carted to the locker room and ultimately ruled out. Nacua had four receptions for 35 yards before exiting the game.
On Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter revealed that Nacua was “week to week” with the knee injury. However, McVay then revealed that he was going on IR, which means he’ll miss at least the next four games.
Nacua won’t undergo surgery, and will instead just rest and rehab and hope to return as soon as he can.
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Nacua is coming off a breakout 2024 season in which he broke the rookie receiving records in receptions (105) and yards (1,486). He earned Pro Bowl honors, was named to the Second-Team All-Pro, and finished second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting behind Houston Texans quarterback C. J. Stroud.
The Rams were hoping Nacua would continue that dominance in 2024, forming a potent one-two receiving duo with Cooper Kupp. However, with Nacua now out for at least the next month, it will be up to Kupp to carry the load like he did in 2021.
Fantasy Football Impact of Puka Nacua Injury
With Nacua’s injury, Kupp will continue to emerge as a top wide receiver option in fantasy football. Kupp reeled in a tied-for-career-high 14 catches for 110 yards and one touchdown on Sunday night, and had an unbelievable 21 targets.
He should continue to see double digit targets every week as Stafford relies on Kupp similar to how he did in 2021, when Kupp had 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns en route to an Offensive Player of the Year award honor and top-three MVP finish.
As for the Rams’ No. 2 wide receiver, Demarcus Robinson and Tyler Johnson will continue competing for those targets. Both receivers had seven targets on Sunday night — Johnson had five receptions for 79 yards while Robinson had four receptions for 42 yards. Robinson is likely the safer bet, but Johnson appears to have some upside after his breakout Week 1 performance.
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