Rams Digest: Puka Nacua Looked Like Himself in Return, Stafford Says
Matthew Stafford liked what he saw from Puka Nacua's first game back from his hip injury, and apparently the Rams never planned on babying him anyway.
Alright, Rams family, pull up a lawn chair, because Sunday gave us some good vibes.
The big news: Puka Nacua was back on the field for the Rams against the Eagles, playing in his first game since dealing with a hip injury, and per ESPN, Matthew Stafford came away impressed. Our quarterback said he thought Nacua looked like himself out there — not some cautious, rehabbing version, but the real deal.
And here's the thing that tells you the Rams weren't messing around with this one: earlier Sunday, sources told ESPN the team had no intention of limiting Nacua's workload against the Eagles. No pitch count, no "ease him back in gently" plan. Either the training staff is supremely confident in that hip, or somebody in that building really wanted their guy out there Sunday. Probably both.
Look, as an LA sports dad who's seen one too many "load management" headlines out of our other teams (you know who you are), it's refreshing to see a Rams guy just get cleared and go PLAY. If Stafford's trusting the eye test, I'm trusting Stafford's eye test.
The bigger question now is whether this is a one-week green light or the new normal for Nacua's workload going forward. Nothing in the reporting says either way yet, so for now, we'll just enjoy that our guy's back and looking like himself again.
That's the Rams news out of Sunday — short and sweet, but when it's about Puka Nacua being back and dealing, I'll take it every time.
Sources
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