LOS ANGELES – A day after leaving practice early with a reaggravation of his knee injury, Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua was held out from practice Friday. But while the Pro Bowler will be listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks, the Rams remain optimistic he won’t have to miss time.
“I wouldn’t bet against this guy,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “My expectation is he’ll do everything in his power to be ready to roll and that’s the mindset that we have.”
Speaking with reporters before Friday’s practice, McVay said that Nacua banged his knee Thursday while going to the ground.
It’s the third time Nacua has injured his right knee since August. The first occurred in a joint practice with the Chargers, again when landing on the grass. The second came in Week 1 against the Detroit Lions as Nacua slid to make a catch. He left that game at halftime with a PCL sprain and missed the subsequent five games.
Nacua, who made a surprise return last week with a seven-catch, 106-yard performance, had an MRI done on the knee after Thursday’s practice. The Rams (3-4) were happy with the result, and while he will spend the time between now and Sunday trying to get the swelling down in his knee, Nacua won’t need to have fluid drained.
“When you look at the picture, it was really encouraging structurally. But then there can sometimes be a little bit of fluid and then that can just limit some of your mobility,” McVay said. “What the hope and expectation is that sometimes when you do that coming off an injury, it kind of scares you as much as anything, where maybe you broke up some scar tissue.”
While this has become a recurring issue for Nacua this fall, McVay said he does not expect it to be something the second-year receiver has to manage through the rest of the season.
“What our hope is is that was more of a scare than anything,” McVay said. “And in such a short amount of time, you go to the ground no matter whether you have a history with a knee or not and how physical he plays and how heavy sometimes he can go down, that’s what can occur. I don’t anticipate that being something that’s going to be an issue.”
PUNTER SHUFFLE
McVay ruled out punter Ethan Evans from Sunday’s game against the Seahawks (4-4) with an illness.
The Rams had already signed Ryan Sanborn to the practice squad Thursday as a precaution, but also added Ty Zentner to the practice squad Friday. McVay said the day’s practice would be spent trying to determine which was the best option not just as a punter but as the holder in the Rams’ place kicking operation, too.
“We are going to figure that out today and you gotta be ready to roll,” McVay said with a dry laugh.
NOTES
Defensive tackle Neville Gallimore (stinger) was ruled out for Sunday’s game.
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Safety Kam Curl (knee), receiver Jordan Whittington (shoulder) and cornerback Charles Woods (toe) will be listed as questionable against Seattle. McVay said he had been happy with Curl’s progress since bruising his knee last week against the Vikings.
The Rams won’t elevate offensive lineman Joe Noteboom (ankle) off injured reserve this week, but McVay said he’s been happy with the utility man’s progress. The Rams have until early next week to activate Noteboom to the active roster.