{"id":2301,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/2301","headline":"Rams keep Puka Nacua off IR despite expected long absence","dek":"Coach Sean McVay says the star receiver will still miss a significant stretch while the team preserves its limited IR return slots for other injured players.","body":"The Rams are not placing Puka Nacua on injured reserve, even though the star wide receiver is expected to be sidelined for a significant period. Head coach Sean McVay told reporters Wednesday that the call came down to roster mechanics rather than the severity of Nacua's injuries.\n\nNacua suffered MCL and PCL sprains along with turf toe during the Rams' Week 9 game against the Washington Commanders. McVay initially estimated the receiver would miss at least a month, which made an IR stint look likely given the timeline. Instead, Los Angeles placed Jordan Whittington on injured reserve with a back injury, using up one of the team's limited return designations on him rather than Nacua.\n\nThat decision reflects just how many injuries the Rams have been managing this season, with the team apparently weighing which players are better served by an IR stint that includes a mandatory minimum absence against those who might return sooner on a normal practice and game-day timeline. For now, Nacua remains on the active roster without an official return window, leaving the Rams to navigate the receiver's absence while continuing to manage other injuries across the roster.","published_at":"2026-11-12T00:33:00.666659+00:00","source_count":3,"written_from":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Rams expect Puka Nacua to miss 'significant' time, won't put him on IR","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/rams-expect-puka-nacua-miss-211859686.html"},{"outlet":"Pro Football Talk","publisher":"NBC Sports","title":"Puka Nacua won't be placed on IR, but will still be out for an extended period","url":"https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/puka-nacua-wont-be-placed-on-ir-but-will-still-be-out-for-an-extended-period"},{"outlet":"New York Post","publisher":"New York Post","title":"Puka Nacua’s injury outlook takes encouraging turn as IR decision looms","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/11/11/sports/puka-nacua-injury-not-season-ending-rams-eye-week-14-or-15-return/"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Puka Nacua may not go on IR","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/puka-nacua-may-not-ir-160423632.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Rams rumors: What’s going on with Puka Nacua after Sean McVay’s IR revelation?","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/rams-rumors-going-puka-nacua-181503713.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Rams announce Puka Nacua will avoid IR, but still miss 'significant' amount of time","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/rams-announce-puka-nacua-avoid-205857272.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Puka Nacua won’t go on IR and Davante Adams could be back soon","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/did-puka-nacua-dodge-injured-210648860.html"}],"image":{"url":"https://nbcsports.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/bc2b401/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/1920x1080!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhdliveextra-a.akamaihd.net%2FHD%2Fimage_sports%2FNBCU_Sports_Group_-_nbcsports%2F126%2F695%2Fnbc_pft_pukanacaua_261110.jpg","credit":"Pro Football Talk","width":1920},"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}