'Nacua must mix his oatmeal with cement': Rams can't overstate WR's importance

LOS ANGELES -- When Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Davante Adams saw the collision successful the mediate of the tract that led to Puka Nacua bleeding from supra his eye, helium was concerned.

In the archetypal 4th of the Rams' 14-9 season-opening victory implicit the Houston Texans, Nacua was taken to the locker country aft a collision portion catching a 9-yard pass. Texans linebacker Henry To'oTo'o, who made the hit, was flagged for unnecessary roughness connected the play.

But, successful what wasn't a astonishment for galore successful the locker country who person seen Nacua play implicit the past 2 seasons, helium returned to the crippled aft being evaluated for a concussion and receiving stitches. On his archetypal thrust back, Nacua had catches for 19 and 24 yards.

"That's almighty Puk," Adams said. "He's a pugnacious lad of a gun, that's for sure."

The third-year receiver finished with 10 catches for 130 yards, by acold the starring receiver contempt missing clip portion getting stitches. The Rams' receiver country went done a large alteration this offseason, releasing longtime receiver Cooper Kupp and signing Adams. And portion there's nary uncertainty Adams volition beryllium a large portion of this Rams discourtesy successful 2025, Sunday besides showed conscionable however important Nacua has go to this team.

"He's a peculiar player," backmost Matthew Stafford said. "He's a peculiar idiosyncratic connected our team. His crippled comes to beingness connected Sundays. He goes retired determination successful signifier and he's working. He is doing each this stuff. He's making plays and each that, but erstwhile it becomes tackle shot is erstwhile Puka Nacua's crippled comes to life."

On Sunday, that looked similar being a spark for a Rams discourtesy that hadn't scored precocious successful the 2nd 4th and was struggling to determination the shot down the field. The Rams particularly missed Nacua due to the fact that Adams was being shadowed by Texans All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. for overmuch of the game. Adams and Nacua combined for 19 of 28 targets against the Texans.

Nacua said the in-game stitches were a archetypal for him, and portion determination was immoderate padding covering his oculus erstwhile helium returned, it didn't instrumentality agelong for his absorption to displacement to the field.

"Hopefully these stitches are doing their occupation due to the fact that I'm not hesitating to deed idiosyncratic else," Nacua said.

But portion Nacua's play -- particularly his physicality connected the tract -- "checks each container you're looking for," manager Sean McVay said, the Rams besides cognize they request him connected the tract for this discourtesy to find its signifier this season. In 2024, Kupp and Nacua some missed important clip due to the fact that of injury.

"He's arsenic pugnacious arsenic it gets," McVay said. "I had a buddy of excavation substance maine that 'Nacua indispensable premix his oatmeal with cement due to the fact that he's truthful tough.' He's a stud, did an unthinkable occupation being capable to travel backmost successful there.

"We ever speech astir trying to enactment our guys successful the spots to support them harmless successful a carnal game. One of those deals that helium did a large occupation and helium had immoderate postulation catches implicit the mediate wherever helium doesn't flinch and that's wherefore a batch of them got flagged."

And portion the Rams volition effort nary uncertainty to debar immoderate unnecessary hard hits that Nacua takes, it's wide the quality to play specified a carnal crippled is thing the young receiver takes pridefulness in.

"I emotion playing this crippled of football," Nacua said. "I consciousness the excitement and the 'want to deed somebody' arsenic overmuch as, yeah, you instrumentality a mates shots present and there, [but] my excitement to spell retired determination and deed idiosyncratic and beryllium capable to play with the physicality that I bask playing the crippled of shot with is thing that drives maine to get backmost retired there.

"And particularly aboriginal connected successful the crippled and knowing that it was thing speedy and I was capable to spell backmost retired there. I wanted to beryllium retired determination arsenic accelerated arsenic imaginable for the guys."

That mindset and that carnal play person been his calling paper since his rookie seas...