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Rams Place Puka Nacua on Injured Reserve After Roster Pivot
By Alexander Cole
Photo: Siddesh Bhongirwar / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The Los Angeles Rams placed wide receiver Puka Nacua on injured reserve Thursday, November 12, 2026, the team announced. The move came one day after coach Sean McVay said the Rams planned to keep Nacua on the active roster. ESPN reported that Nacua injured the MCL in his right knee and a toe in Sunday’s victory over the Washington Commanders. Yahoo Sports reported that he was later diagnosed with MCL and PCL sprains in his right knee as well as a turf toe injury, sustained late in the win. Neither report identified a specific play.
On Wednesday, McVay said the Rams would keep Nacua on the active roster because of “roster mechanics,” according to ESPN. Yahoo Sports reported that McVay initially said Nacua would not go on injured reserve because of “some semantics with the roster.” The Rams changed course Thursday, signing receiver Brennan Presley to the active roster from the practice squad, according to Yahoo, and adding receiver Tyler Scott to the practice squad.
Nacua is expected to miss an extended stretch. ESPN reported that he is expected to sit out what McVay called “an extended period of time,” while Yahoo Sports reported that McVay told reporters Wednesday Nacua would miss “a significant period of time.” ESPN reported that Nacua will miss at least four games while on injured reserve: at the Arizona Cardinals, at home against the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs, and at the San Francisco 49ers. Yahoo reported the move will sideline him for at least four games and that the earliest he could return is against the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 20.
In seven games this season, Nacua has 70 catches for 715 yards and four touchdowns, according to both reports. ESPN reported that he missed Weeks 2 and 3 because of a hip injury, while Yahoo described him as having missed two games early in the season with a hip injury. Yahoo also reported that Sunday’s game against Washington was his most productive of the season, with 14 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown. ESPN, citing ESPN Research, reported that Nacua’s 70 receptions are the most through a player’s first seven games of a season in NFL history.
The Rams are 5-4, according to ESPN, and Nacua’s absence further affects a receiving group already missing Davante Adams. ESPN reported that Adams has been on injured reserve since rupturing a hamstring muscle late in the Rams’ Week 6 loss to Arizona, while Yahoo reported that he has been out since Week 6 with a ruptured hamstring. Yahoo reported that McVay said Wednesday he hoped Adams could return in Week 13, meaning the Rams could still face what the report described as “a couple of weeks” with a shrunken receiver corps.
Alexander Cole
NFL, The Library Media
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