Sean McVay told the Rams media on Monday that star wide receiver Puka Nacua is going to practice on Wednesday and be “ready to go” to face the New Orleans Saints in Week 9. That would mean that Nacua only missed one start, a 35-7 win over the Jaguars, and that L.A. has survived his absence without any losses. Even in the game that Nacua suffered an ankle injury, Week 7’s contest against the Baltimore Ravens, the Rams won 17-3.
That makes the Rams 2-0 since the Nacua injury and luckily they were able to get a week of rest with the Week 8 bye.
McVay gave the same encouraging update on Rob Havenstein, telling the media that the right tackle will practice on Wednesday and return from an ankle injury to face the Saints on Sunday. Although Warren McClendon has filled in for Havenstein over the last three games and maybe played even better than the veteran, it sounds like McVay wants to go back to the familiar in Week 9. Still, this could be Havenstein’s last season with the Rams so it is a question of how well McClendon played and if there’s any chance that McVay would go back to him if his veteran right tackle doesn’t play better moving forward.
Nacua has 54 catches for 616 yards this season. Despite missing a game and having a bye week, Nacua still has the fourth-most first down catches in the NFL (33) and is second in the league with 102.7 receiving yards per game. After winning a game against the Jaguars in which Matthew Stafford hit 10 different receivers, will the Rams change up their offensive game plan at all? Or is it back to the Puka show in Week 9?
