Everyone expected Cooper Kupp to play against the Minnesota Vikings, making his awaited return to the field after missing four games. However, few believed Puka Nacua would be ready to go as early as this week.
Not even Sean McVay knew Nacua had a chance to play until Monday afternoon.
After all, he said just last week that Nacua was “still a little bit of ways away,” indicating that he had a chance to return in Week 9 against the Seattle Seahawks, not on Thursday night against the Vikings.
It wasn’t until this Monday that head trainer Reggie Scott told McVay that Nacua might have a shot at playing this week, much to the surprise of the Rams coach.
“I kind of remove myself because I want to try to be focused and in the moment,” McVay said after the game. “You’re obviously checking up on guys. Reggie Scott comes to my office on Monday or whenever, it was after I had spoken with you guys and he says – Reggie doesn’t throw it out there unless he knows it’s probably a good chance – He had said, ‘I think Puka might have a chance to go.’ I had said, ‘Alright, we’ll shoot for getting (him) back… maybe for Seattle.’ He said, ‘I don’t know, I’m feeling pretty good.’”
After McVay heard that, Nacua worked out on the field and “did a great job,” giving the coach hope that his star receiver might be able to go. After talking to Nacua, McVay got the sense that he was ready to give it a shot, and from there, it was determined that he would play against the Vikings.
“He went and had a workout session where he ran routes and did a great job. His movement looked good. I talked to him and I said, ‘Do you want to try to give this thing a shot?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ He took part in the walkthrough on Tuesday, did a little bit more movement on his own and then yesterday in practice, he looked really good and once you tease me, you’re going. So, that was kind of really how that ended up coming about. But he had shown that he was ready for that performance and this guy’s mindset, his mentality, he’s a war daddy, he’s a stud. I love his play energy and what he brings. He was ready to go tonight and he made a big impact on the game.”
Matthew Stafford was thrilled to get Nacua back in the mix alongside Kupp and the Rams’ other receivers, too. It had been six games since Nacua was on the field and it’s not as if he was practicing while on injured reserve.
So this week was their only work together since Week 1, but with it being a short week, they didn’t exactly throw much. Stafford told reporters after Thursday’s game that he threw maybe one or two passes to Nacua all week.
” I haven’t had a ton of reps with those guys in the last month or so, especially Puka,” he said of Nacua and Kupp. “I might have thrown him one or two balls in practice this week and that’s the first time since the first game, but he did a hell of a job tonight. He always does. Those guys come out and compete. That’s what I’m proud of man. Just coming out, showing up for our football team, competing, that’s big time.”
Nacua finished the night with seven catches for 106 yards, six of which went for first downs and picked up at least 13 yards. He looked every bit like the star rookie we saw in 2023 despite not being up to full speed and with very limited practice reps heading into the game.
Now he and the rest of the Rams’ roster have a few extra days to recover before getting in a full week of practice next week.
