The trade deadline came and went without a move from the Los Angeles Rams on Tuesday, which was a surprising development to some. But even after Sean McVay said the Rams would explore "all avenues" at wide receiver following Puka Nacua's devastating injury, Los Angeles was never likely to be overly aggressive in the trade market.
And according to ESPN, they didn't make a strong push to acquire a wide receiver. Jeremy Fowler reported Wednesday that the Rams "didn't seriously consider" a trade for a receiver because "they expect both Puka Nacua and Davante Adams to return this season."
Overall, though, the Rams didn't seriously consider a receiver move because they expect both Puka Nacua and Davante Adams to return this season. And in the short
term, they believe Matthew Stafford can maximize the supporting cast of receivers.
In the same column, ESPN's Dan Graziano laid out why the Rams didn't strike a trade to acquire a wide receiver after being so aggressive in the offseason. It's likely due to their lack of draft capital, having already traded away their first- and third-rounders in the 2027 draft, as well as their seventh-round pick.
As of now, they're slated to have just four picks in the upcoming draft, pending compensatory selections.
The Rams certainly could have used help at receiver, where Adams and Jordan Whittington are on IR, and Nacua might be headed there as well. But remember, because of the Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie trades, the Rams are extremely short on future draft capital relative to the other teams that were looking to add. The Rams have only four picks in next year's draft. They're without their first-, third- and seventh-round picks in 2027. They're also without their second-round pick in 2028 and their third-round pick in 2029 because of the Garrett trade. Frankly, they made their big moves in the offseason and were always going to have a tough time doing one at the deadline.
Additionally, Graziano pointed out that the Rams put Jordan Whittington on IR but not Nacua, speculating that perhaps Nacua could return sooner than expected.
"Speaking to people close to this situation on Monday evening, they were very adamant that Nacua's injury isn't season-ending and that they hope to get him back around that Week 14, Week 15 time," Graziano wrote.
McVay said he expects Nacua to miss at least a month, but he never said for sure that he would be placed on injured reserve, only that the Rams would "probably" put him on IR. If he goes on IR, the earliest he could return is Week 15 because the Rams have a bye in Week 11, and players on IR are required to miss four games, not four weeks. But if he doesn't go on IR, perhaps there's a chance he'll be back in Week 14, missing only three games.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Report: Rams 'didn't seriously consider' trading for WR
