As Rams wideout Puka Nacua potentially misses a second consecutive game with a groin injury, uncertainty surrounds his return timeline.
The absence of a new contract raises questions about whether financial factors are contributing to his situation.
Nacua is earning $5.767 million in the final year of his rookie deal. For comparison, Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who entered the NFL the same year, recently secured a second contract worth $42.15 million per year. While Nacua’s contract negotiations have been delayed by off-field issues, the lack of financial security beyond this season means he is understandably reluctant to risk aggravating the injury and missing additional time. Likewise, he is hesitant to perform in a manner that might undermine the perception that he deserves to be compensated among the elite at his position.
These dynamics are reflected in the latest update from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. He reports that Nacua “could return as soon as next week,” but notes that the groin issue has “impacted his explosiveness.”
The key observation is this — while Nacua “functionally” can play, he “has not felt like he can play with the same explosiveness he has had in the past.”
In other words, he does not want to diminish his contract year by failing to showcase his characteristic explosiveness.
The team, per Schefter, does not believe surgery will be necessary, though it remains “not entirely off the table.”
This is not a hold-in, per se. It is a legitimate injury, which brings together a desire to avoid making it worse and a goal to play at his absolute best when he does return.
The bottom line is that Nacua quite possibly would be playing if he had his second deal and the security that goes along with it.