Puka Nacua’s torturous offseason has spilled into the preseason. The Rams wide receiver’s latest bump in the road took the form of what appeared to be an abdominal injury, although reports have been somewhat inconsistent on the full nature of the injury. If Nacua suffered an abdominal injury, one outcome could be catastrophic. At least, that is what one doctor posted on X.
The post made on Thursday by Jesse Morse, M.D. opened the door to the injury being a sports hernia. If that were to be the final diagnosis, Nacua could miss until Week 10 due to the injury.
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“Puka Nacua is dealing with a lower abdominal muscle strain,” he posted. “This area can be very tricky, because there are a lot of different muscles involved. Sometimes this is an isolated abdominal rectus strain (best case scenario). Sometimes this is a little deeper and involves some of the deep ligaments, and possibly the core pelvic muscles.
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“When that happens it is usually more of a ‘sports hernia’ than a mild muscle strain. Hopefully some clarity soon. If this indeed is a sports hernia, that would derail the first half of his season.”
Nacua posted 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2025 after a sophomore slump in 2024 with roughly half those numbers. Nacua played just 11 games that season due to injury troubles. If Nacua gets bad news about his abdominal injury, he could be on deck for another similar outing two years later.
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Puka Nacua’s injury sets stage for potential disaster for Rams offense
If Puka Nacua were to miss significant time, his absence would push Davante Adams into the WR1 role in Los Angeles. While that might not be the worst development at face value based on his accomplished history, Adams has one huge factor working against him: his age.
Adams, heading into an age 34 season, would be asked to soak up many of Nacua’s receptions and thus take a proportional number of greater hits. Depending on how much time Nacua would miss, the hits could catch up to Adams sooner rather than later.
As such, Sean McVay might need to spread out the ball to Kyren Williams and lean heavier on tight end Colby Parkinson. While it might be able to mask the absence of Nacua temporarily, any setback in the wide receiver room could affect Matthew Stafford, who has pressure to explode with Ty Simpson waiting behind him.
Put simply, the Rams appear to be in a tough spot with the start of the regular season on the horizon.
Will Nacua receive some much-needed good news?
Edited by Ian Van Roy
