Puka Nacua is head to injured reserve after all.
The Los Angeles Rams officially placed their star wide receiver on IR on Thursday, Nov. 12, a day after head coach Sean McVay told reporters that Nacua would miss significant time but avoid IR due to "roster semantics." Per NFL rules, a team can designate up to eight players for return from injured reserve in a single season.
The Rams, plagued by injuries all year, have already designated three players – Myles Garrett, rookie tackle Keagen Trost and running back Ronnie Rivers – and a fourth, Terrance Ferguson, is expected back in a couple weeks after tweaking his hamstring in practice last Friday. Kobie Turner and Davante Adams figure to be the fifth and sixth players to return for IR, with Nacua
presumably being the seventh in at least four weeks from now.
Nacua injured his PCL and MCL during a jet sweep on the final offensive play in their Week 9 win over the Washington Commanders, in which he put up 150 yards and a touchdown on 14 receptions. WR Brennan Presley was signed from the practice squad and the Rams signed Tyler Scott to the practice squad in corresponding moves. Xavier Smith was signed from the San Francisco 49ers' practice squad on Tuesday after Jordan Whittington was placed on IR with a back injury.
Assuming Nacua returns in the earliest window possible, Week 14 against the 49ers, that means the Rams would only be able to bring back one of Whittington, offensive lineman Justin Dedich, running back Dean Connors and lineman Steve Avila (who has not been officially placed on IR yet) barring any other major injuries.
McVay told reporters on Wednesday that the team hopes Adams can return after Week 12 vs. the Green Bay Packers, a welcome bit of good news for a receiver room that has been decimated in the last few weeks.
"Guys will be asked to step up," McVay told reporters on Monday ahead of the trade deadline. "Puka has always had a pretty large target share based on his production and the different things that he does and because of the way that you're able to get him the football because of some of the unselfish stuff he does in the run game.
"... There are other guys that are very capable of doing some good stuff for us. We'll look to see those guys step up and it'll be great opportunity for them in spite of it being a bummer for those guys that are out."
Rams WR depth chart
Here's what the Rams' receiver room now looks like with Nacua's move to IR and the signing of Presley:
- Tutu Atwell
- Konata Mumpfield
- CJ Daniels
- Alex Bachman
- Xavier Smith
- Brennan Presley
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rams place Puka Nacua on IR after all. Where does LA go from here?
