Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua was added to the injury report Friday with a hip issue and did not practice, creating a new Week 2 concern ahead of Monday night’s game against the New York Giants.
Nacua was not listed on Los Angeles’ Thursday report, so the Friday absence represents a change rather than a continuation of an existing game-week designation. The Rams still have another practice Saturday before issuing their final game statuses for Monday Night Football, but Nacua’s availability has quickly become one of the most important items to monitor.
Nacua went from off the report to a Friday DNP
The timing is what makes the update significant. Nacua practiced Thursday and was not carrying an injury designation when the Rams opened their Week 2 work. On Friday, he was listed as a non-participant because of the hip injury.
Los Angeles has not publicly established whether the current issue is connected to the psoas discomfort Nacua dealt with during training camp. That distinction matters because the psoas is involved in hip movement, but there is not enough verified information yet to call this a recurrence. For now, the confirmed development is simply that Nacua missed Friday’s practice with a hip injury after not appearing on Thursday’s report.
FSN previously covered Nacua being expected to play in the Rams’ Week 1 opener after earlier preseason health questions. He did play and immediately resumed his role as Matthew Stafford’s primary target.
The Rams cannot casually replace Nacua’s role
Nacua caught five passes for 74 yards in the Week 1 loss to San Francisco and led the Rams in receiving. His value goes beyond the raw box score because the offense asks him to win in multiple areas of the field, work through traffic and create reliable completions when Stafford needs an answer against pressure or tight coverage.
If Nacua is limited or unavailable Monday, Los Angeles would have to redistribute a large part of that workload. Davante Adams remains the most obvious veteran option to absorb targets, but the Rams would also need contributions from the rest of the receiver room rather than simply shifting every Nacua route to one player.
That is especially relevant because Jordan Whittington was also added to Friday’s injury report and did not practice with a quadriceps issue. Two receivers appearing as new non-participants on the same day creates a more complicated depth question than a single-player absence.
Jordan Whittington’s absence adds another layer
Whittington’s role is different from Nacua’s, but his availability matters for both offensive depth and the Rams’ broader game-day personnel plan. If both receivers remain limited through Saturday, Los Angeles could have to lean more heavily on Konata Mumpfield, Tutu Atwell, Xavier Smith and C.J. Daniels behind Adams.
Some of those options were not major parts of the Week 1 receiving rotation, so the Rams would have less continuity if they need to make a late adjustment. That does not mean Nacua or Whittington will miss the game. It means Saturday’s practice has become far more important than it appeared 24 hours earlier.
The Rams have other injury questions to manage
Friday’s report also kept safety Kamren Kinchens out for a second consecutive practice because of a hamstring injury. Safety Kam Curl, linebacker Omar Speights and linebacker Nate Landman remained limited as the Rams continued to work through the effects of their season opener.
The cluster of injuries matters because Los Angeles is already trying to rebound from a difficult Week 1. FSN’s look at the Rams’ top-heavy roster construction centered on how much the team depends on its stars staying available. Nacua showing up on the injury report is exactly the type of development that tests that approach, even before the Rams know whether he will actually miss a game.
Why Saturday is the key checkpoint
Because the Rams play Monday night, their practice schedule runs a day later than most of the league. Friday was not the final injury report. Nacua still has Saturday to return to practice, participate on a limited basis or remain sidelined before Los Angeles assigns an official game status.
A return Saturday would be encouraging, particularly if Nacua is able to handle meaningful work. Another absence would increase the likelihood that he carries a questionable or worse designation into the weekend.
The Rams also need to clarify whether Friday’s absence was precautionary, whether the hip issue developed during Thursday’s work or whether it reflects a problem that had been building before the practice week. Until the team provides more detail, it would be premature to attach a recovery timeline.
What it means for Monday night
The Giants are already dealing with their own secondary changes after placing cornerback Paulson Adebo on injured reserve. That makes Nacua’s status especially relevant to the matchup: a full-strength Rams receiving corps could pressure New York’s reshuffled coverage group, while an absence or limitation would remove one of Los Angeles’ clearest advantages.
For now, the Rams still have time. Nacua has not been ruled out, and there is no final Week 2 designation yet. But a star receiver going from completely off the injury report to a Friday DNP is a materially new development, and Saturday’s practice will determine whether this becomes a short-lived scare or a major Monday night storyline.
Sources
- New York Giants: Week 2 tracker with Rams Friday injury report (September 18, 2026)
- Rams Wire via Yahoo Sports: Puka Nacua misses practice with hip issue (September 18, 2026)
- CBS Sports: Puka Nacua DNP due to hip injury (September 18, 2026)