McVay Says Puka Nacua's Injury Isn't a Long-Term Concern. The Rams Are Still Being Careful.
Puka Nacua does not have a hernia. That's the one firm thing Sean McVay offered Wednesday, and it's worth more than the rest of the update combined.
Nacua, the Rams' star receiver, did not take part in a light team jog-through and is listed with groin soreness. His status for Sunday against the Denver Broncos is unclear. McVay said the injury is not a long-term concern, said the team will "err on the side of caution," and said he'll find out whether Nacua can practice Thursday. He also said he knows Nacua is frustrated.
McVay's own description is the tell. He called the issue something that can sometimes be a "pre-hernia," then emphasized that it isn't a hernia, and that rest is typically the best remedy. That's a coach walking a narrow line, because a core muscle injury is one of the few soft-tissue problems in football where the fallback plan is a knife. Rest usually works. When it doesn't, the next step is surgery, and the calendar stops being measured in days.
This is why the Rams' caution is the correct call, not a soft one. Publicly refusing a timeline in late September is a choice, and it's the choice teams make when they've already decided the player's week matters less than his November. McVay didn't rule Nacua out. He didn't rule him in either, and the Thursday practice report is now the only real information left before Sunday.
The Broncos trip is a road game against a defense that will not be sympathetic. If Nacua can't practice Thursday, the Rams should sit him. A groin that's sore enough to keep him out of a jog-through on Wednesday doesn't get fixed by two days of treatment and a flight.
Here's my verdict, and I'll own it: play the long game. Los Angeles has a receiver whose availability shapes the entire passing offense, and the gap between one missed week in September and a core-muscle repair that costs a month or more is enormous. If Nacua practices Thursday and looks like himself, fine, he plays. If there's any doubt after that, the Rams should take the loss on the depth chart and give him the weekend off. Being cautious in Week 3 is not timidity. It's arithmetic.
