Rams star receiver Puka Nacua will not play Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars because of an ankle injury he suffered in last Sunday’s victory over the Baltimore Ravens, coach Sean McVay told reporters Friday in Baltimore.
Nacua, who ranks among NFL leaders in catches and yards receiving, did not practice this week in Baltimore, where the Rams stayed before their scheduled departure to London on Friday.
The Rams (4-2) play the Jaguars (4-2) at Wembley Stadium.
Veteran receiver Davante Adams is expected to become quarterback Matthew Stafford’s primary target. Tutu Atwell, who sat out against the Ravens because of a hamstring injury, will return Sunday. Jordan Whittington also is expected to start.
Offensive lineman Rob Havenstein also was ruled out because of an ankle injury that has sidelined him for several games.
BALTIMORE — Star receiver Puka Nacua sustained an ankle sprain in the Rams’ victory over the Baltimore Ravens, and his status for Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London is uncertain, coach Sean McVay said Monday.
McVay said the Rams were encouraged by the scan results.
“Whether that means he’s able to play like the guy we’re accustomed to seeing on Sunday will be a weekly process for us,” McVay said during a videoconference with reporters, adding, “There is nothing on the scan that looks like it’s going to be long term. The uncertainty of this week is a real thing.”
After the Rams play the Jaguars, they have a week off before playing the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 2 at SoFi Stadium. But McVay said the off week “has nothing to do” with how they will handle Nacua’s situation.
“It’s going to be what’s good for Puka and for our football team,” McVay said, “and I know he’s going to do everything in his power to try to be ready to go for this week, and we have to have a plan for him and if he’s not able to go.”
The Rams are staying in Baltimore and will practice at Oriole Park at Camden Yards before they depart for London on Friday.
Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua and Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey go up for a pass during the first half Sunday. Nacua sustained an ankle sprain on the play.
(Stephanie Scarbrough / Associated Press)
Nacua caught two passes for 28 yards in the Rams’ 17-3 victory over the Ravens before he was injured in the second quarter.
Nacua and Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey leaped for a pass thrown by Matthew Stafford into the end zone, and both came down hard on the turf. Nacua got up, took a few steps and then went to the ground again where was attended to by team trainers. He was assisted to the locker room, evaluated, and then he returned to the sideline. Nacua played in the second half but was not targeted.
Nacua still leads the league with 54 catches. His 616 yards receiving ranks second behind Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s 696.
Nacua has caught 10 or more passes in three games this season and has amassed more than 100 yards receiving twice, including a 13-catch, 170-yard performance against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3.
Second-year pro Jordan Whittington started in place of Nacua, and he caught three passes for 23 yards.
Receiver Tutu Atwell did not play against the Ravens because of a hamstring injury but McVay said he “should be good” to play against the Jaguars.
“That has been a killer for us,” McVay said Friday during a videoconference with reporters, “and it’s cost us two games.”
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Gary Klein breaks down what went wrong for the Rams in their 26-23 overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium on Thursday.
The Rams are 3-2, with defeats by the defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles and the 49ers due in part to woeful execution on field-goal and extra-point attempts.
The Eagles beat the Rams by blocking two field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter, including a potential winning kick that they returned for a touchdown on the final play.
On Thursday night, Rams kicker Joshua Karty missed a long field-goal attempt, and the 49ers blocked an extra-point try. That’s four points lost in a 26-23 defeat. Karty, who has been masterful at dropping hard-to-handle knuckleball kickoffs into the landing zone, also misplaced a kick that gave the 49ers the ball at the 40-yard line.
Karty, however, does not appear to be McVay’s most pressing kick-related concern.
The kicking unit as a whole has played a major role in both defeats, which also featured poor execution by the Rams at times in other areas.
“I can’t remember feeling much more disgusted waking up after a tough loss, than I have after the two that we’ve had,” McVay said.
So how do the Rams fix their kicking problems?
“Oh man,” McVay said. “I wish it was just one thing but when you watch the protection — we’ve got to fix it. And it’s not one thing in particular.
“There’s different locations and spots and people that have not executed the way that we’re capable of.”
“Clearly, I was not right on that,” McVay said, “so we’ve got to fix it. We’ve got to go back to work.”
The Rams are off for the weekend, and they will return on Monday to begin preparations for a game against the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore. After that game, the Rams will remain in Baltimore to prepare for their next game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
“We’re a couple execution plays away from being a 5-0 team,” McVay said. “But the reality is we’re 3-2.”
McVay sounded confident that the Rams would rebound from the loss to the 49ers.
“This is going to galvanize us,” he said. “I promise you that.”
Etc.
McVay continued to lament his final play call against the 49ers, which did not give quarterback Matthew Stafford a chance to make a play. Stafford had moved the Rams into position to win the game, but on fourth and one at the 49ers’ 11-yard line, McVay called a running play. The 49ers stopped Kyren Williams for no gain, ending the game. “I know it wasn’t the best decision to take the ball out his hands in crunch time on that fourth down,” McVay said. … Rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson, a second-round draft pick, caught his first pass for a 21-yard gain. “We’ve got to be able to figure out a way to get him going,” McVay said, adding, “he’s going to be a really good player for us.” … McVay indicated the Rams might make moves to improve the cornerback group. “We’re going to look into those things,” he said.
Shedeur Sanders had been considered by many to be a potential first-round pick before plummeting to the Browns at No. 144 overall, after Cleveland had already selected former Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round.
Earlier this month, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Baltimore Ravens had planned on drafting Sanders with the No. 141 overall pick until he let them know that he didn’t want to sit on a roster behind quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is a two-time league MVP and only 28 years old.
Last week, former NFL quarterback Cam Newton said on his podcast “4th&1 ” that he had heard that the Philadelphia Eagles had also wanted to draft Sanders at some point. Like the Ravens, however, Philadelphia also has a superstar quarterback who may not have even reached his prime in 27-year-old Jalen Hurts, who was named the MVP of Super Bowl LIX in February.
Deion Sanders, an NFL legend who coached his son at Colorado, seemed to confirm all of that during an appearance on Jason and Travis Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast, which was published Monday.
“Philly called us on draft day. They didn’t mention that. I just let a cat out of the bag,” Coach Prime told the Kelce brothers. “Philly called. Who [else] was it? Baltimore and the Browns. … I played for Baltimore, so me and [Ravens executive vice president of player development] Ozzie [Newsome] are cool … and he wanted to talk to Shedeur as well as he wanted to talk to me.
“I put Shedeur on the phone. And Shedeur — I don’t want to say it went, but how in the world can somebody fault him for saying or thinking, ‘Why in the world would I go back up Lamar for 10 more years?’ Like, who comes in with that mindset?”
Sanders added: “Where do these guys come from, that sit on these platforms and say, ‘Oh, you should have sat in behind and learned the game and been what they developed.’ When have the pros ever developed anybody? By the time you get to the NFL, they expect you to know what you need to do and to do it, or somebody else gonna get in there and do it.”
The 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee summed it up this way: “I’ve never sat on a bench and said, ‘Well, I learned a lot today.’ Who learns sitting on the bench?”
Sanders said he’s been preaching patience and preparation to his 23-year-old son, who currently sits behind 40-year-old veteran Joe Flacco and 24-year-old Gabriel on the Browns depth chart and has yet to see the field during the regular season.
“Be patient and be ready,” Sanders said he’s told Shedeur. “They call your name and you ain’t ready — we ain’t built like that. Sanders, we ain’t built like that. We always ready. We don’t have to get ready. And I want you to be patient. You don’t force nothing that ain’t that it may not be time [for].”
Sanders also said he has a feeling that patience will pay off for his son sooner rather than later.
“It’s coming up,” he said. “I got a prediction. I ain’t telling nobody. I got a feeling when it’s gonna go down. But it’s gonna go down this year. He gonna get a shot.”
