Rams’ Puka Nacua working to build a new image: ‘It’s OK to ask for support’

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — Puka Nacua is back in the Los Angeles Rams’ facility.

He’s back from a trip to a holistic care facility, back to running routes and holding conversations about his life off of the field. Back to trying to prove he can be a face-of-the-franchise player.

Nacua is entering the biggest offseason of his life. He’s heading into a contract year, the last of a four-year deal worth $4.1 million he signed as a fifth-round pick in 2023. This offseason could bring so much more his way — including a deal in the neighborhood of the one Jaxon Smith-Njigba signed with the Seattle Seahawks for four years and $168.6 million.

But Nacua, who turns 25 on Friday, isn’t there yet. Growth takes time, and that’s become the basis of this critical spring.

“Some of the things I feel like I’ve learned is it’s OK to ask for support and to recognize that the platform that I have, being a professional football player,” Nacua said. “And trying to use that for the betterment of myself and for those around me, and the people that have supported me.”

Nacua needed an intervention this spring after an All-Pro season on the field came with a string of distractions and headaches off of it. On the field, the third-year wide receiver led the NFL with 129 receptions and 107.2 receiving yards per game, falling just behind Smith-Njigba for the league’s receiving yards title.

Off of it, he found himself in several distracting situations, from trying to sneak live streamers into a practice against coach Sean McVay’s wishes to getting fined by the NFL for criticizing officials to releasing an apology for a touchdown dance he practiced on video with antisemitic undertones to facing a lawsuit alleging he bit a woman and shouted antisemitic remarks while allegedly intoxicated on New Year’s Eve.

The alleged New Year’s Eve incident, which came mere weeks after the live stream one, became the tipping point to seek out help and a new way. Nacua checked himself into a holistic care facility ahead of the Rams’ offseason program.

Nacua declined to speak specifically about the incident because the lawsuit is still active, though the plaintiff’s request for a restraining order has been dropped. He did acknowledge that it was a sign that something needed to change.

“A moment for me to learn from kind of some of the situations I was putting myself in and then also having just an awareness of how I’m conducting myself,” Nacua said.

Now that he’s through the holistic care program, he’s seeking out therapy with the Rams to work through the emotions and challenges that led to negative headlines.

“Most importantly, you want to be there. You want to help him continue to grow,” McVay said of supporting Nacua. “Certainly, nobody’s perfect. I know I wasn’t. I had a lot of people that put their arm around me and helped guide me along the way.

“What I’ve consistently said, I love this kid’s heart.”

With Nacua engaging that support, teammates are trying to provide theirs as well. They know how critical Nacua is to their goals of hoisting another Super Bowl trophy at SoFi Stadium next February, as well as for the future of a Rams franchise that is built through the passing game but has Stafford and fellow All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams at ages 38 and 33, respectively.

“I’m happy for his success and his work to get back out here and play the game he loves,” Stafford said. “As far as conversations, absolutely, I’m talking nonstop to him. He’s a great person and a great kid. I’m trying to give advice when it’s needed and also to just be his buddy, too. I’m trying to do everything I can — and I think everyone is — to just support him.”

The Rams are betting on the person they know to overcome the habits that led to a live stream, a league fine and a lawsuit alleging misconduct. They are banking on growth in a young father who has a chance to set himself and his family up for life with a new contract — one he’ll earn if he can prove he’s worthy of being the face of a franchise in a post-Stafford world.

Nacua loves to live in the moment, and he’s trying to do that with these practices, and ahead of a contract year. But he knows what’s at stake and what could be in store, and that’s driving his actions now.

“It’s about continuing on the routine and habits I’ve established for myself this offseason,” Nacua said. “The consistency, the physicality that I play the game of football with is something I pride myself on. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. It’s just understanding and developing as a wide receiver.”

Nacua is one of seven Rams players entering contract years who were ranked in The Athletic’s top 30 free agents for 2027. They have since signed one of those players, as Stafford just negotiated a one-year extension on a deal that was set to end after this season. They also signed All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to a four-year extension that makes him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history at $31 million per season.

It leaves Nacua along with defensive lineman Kobie Turner, outside linebacker Byron Young, guards Steve Avila and Kevin Dotson, and Adams, all working to land the next extension. Add in other starters in contract years, such as right tackle Warren McClendon Jr. and center Coleman Shelton, and it could mean one of these players winds up playing on the franchise tag next season.

Nacua has the most leverage of these players because of the position he plays, his age and his All-Pro status. If the Rams decide against handing him a major extension, it’s likely another team would do so in a passing league where teams are constantly looking for instant lifelines for young quarterbacks to throw to. And so, in a way, Nacua is auditioning for all 32 teams this season.

But make no mistake: The best version of the dream is signing that extension here, with the Rams, the team that found him in the fifth round and has a chance to win a Super Bowl this season.

“I couldn’t imagine myself playing anywhere else,” Nacua said.