Puka Nacua injury update: Rams WR questionable to return after suffering rib injury vs. Browns

Jacob Camenker

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Puka Nacua injury update: Rams WR questionable to return after suffering rib injury vs. Browns image

Puka Nacua got off to a great start in the Rams' Week 13 game against the Browns. He logged four catches for 105 yards and a touchdown in a quarter-and-a-half of play, going over 1,000 receiving yards for the season and breaking the team's rookie receiving record.

Unfortunately, there are now questions about whether he will be able to finish the game.

Nacua suffered an injury after making an acrobatic catch in the second quarter of the Rams vs. Browns game. He landed hard on his right side and remained down after hitting the ground out of bounds.

MORE: Updated NFL playoff picture for Week 13 of 2023 NFL season

Nacua was eventually able to get up and leave the field. He walked to the sidelines slowly and appeared to be clutching his right chest and shoulder area as he went to the sideline.

Shortly after he left the field, Nacua went to the locker room. The Rams then announced that the rookie was dealing with a rib injury and was questionable to return.

Nacua had a team-high six targets before heading to the locker room and had posted his fifth 100-yard game of the season. In his stead, the Rams figure to rely more on Cooper Kupp to re-emerge as the team's high-volume No. 1 receiver.

Rams WR depth chart

The Rams dressed six receivers for their game against the Browns. Below is how their depth chart for the contest shook out:

Rank Player
1 Cooper Kupp
2 Puka Nacua
3 Tutu Atwell
4 Ben Skowronek
5 Austin Trammell
6 Demarcus Robinson

If Nacua can't return on Sunday, Atwell would step into the Rams' No. 2 receiver role for the rest of the game. That role will be familiar for the small but speedy wide-out, as he occupied it — and fared well within it — early in the 2023 season when Kupp was on IR.

Beyond Atwell, the Rams figure to mix Skowronek and Trammell into the mix. Trammell had a career-high three catches for 23 yards in Week 12 against the Seahawks, so he may get more opportunities than Skowronek if Los Angeles is looking for a player on the come-up.

Tight end Tyler Higbee and running back Kyren Williams may also see more targets in Nacua's absence.

Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.