{"id":277542,"date":"2026-04-20T22:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T22:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/277542\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T22:43:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T22:43:08","slug":"puka-nacua-taking-part-in-rams-offseason-program-after-rehab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/277542\/","title":{"rendered":"Puka Nacua taking part in Rams’ offseason program after rehab"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After entering a rehabilitation facility<\/a> last month, Rams<\/a> All-Pro receiver Puka Nacua<\/a>\u2019s availability for the start of the team\u2019s voluntary offseason workout program appeared to be in doubt.<\/p>\n

But on Monday, Nacua was present along with quarterback Matthew Stafford, star receiver Davante Adams, new cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson and other returning players for the start of a process the Rams aim to end with a Super Bowl run.<\/p>\n

Nacua was not among players the team made available to speak with reporters at the outset of the Rams\u2019 program, which includes three phases and ends in June.<\/p>\n

Safety Quentin Lake and defensive lineman Kobie Turner, team captains, said Rams players were rallying around Nacua.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s my brother,\u201d Lake said. \u201cAs a team we love him to death. We know who he is as a person, a football player, so just making sure we\u2019re there to support him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veteran tight end Tyler Higbee, 33, said he has been training with the 24-year-old Nacua.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not trying to play too much Dad,\u201d Higbee said. \u201cI\u2019m always there for him, try to talk to him and just help him understand what it is. … He\u2019s doing really good, and he\u2019s going to be ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coach Sean McVay<\/a> and general manager Les Snead<\/a> are expected to address Nacua\u2019s situation Tuesday during a news conference as a lead-in to the NFL draft, which begins Thursday in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

The Rams, who have the No. 13 pick in the draft, are regarded as a favorite to play in Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium<\/a> in February.<\/p>\n

But they will need Nacua to make the run.<\/p>\n

Nacua was involved in a string of off-the-field incidents<\/a> the last few months, including an alleged biting incident that led to a civil lawsuit. In March, he began a rehabilitation program in Malibu.<\/p>\n

Nacua led the NFL with 129 receptions last season. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and he is eligible for an extension that could equal or surpass the deal Seattle Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba recently signed that includes $120 million in guarantees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After entering a rehabilitation facility last month, Rams All-Pro receiver Puka Nacua\u2019s availability for the start of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277543,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[10951,48,52,51,47,50,49,63,17640,119832,119831,1459,21270,10948,11706,10947,91333,5408,5712,99893,2429],"class_list":["post-277542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-coach-sean-mcvay","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-nfl-draft","tag-off-the-field-situation","tag-offseason-program","tag-part","tag-pick","tag-puka-nacua","tag-ram","tag-rams","tag-rehab","tag-reporter","tag-sofi-stadium","tag-super-bowl-lxi","tag-thursday"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}