Rams receiver Puka Nacua made one great, diving touchdown reception Sunday in New England. After he landed, he slowly got up and ended up in the medical tent.
Ultimately, he was fine, but Nacua’s habit of going all out all the time led to coach Sean McVay being asked Monday if he’s talked to Nacua about avoiding that kind of hard contact with the ground.
“I think we were all concerned,” McVay told reporters. “What we’ve talked about is just some of the things that have come up in the practice situations and sometimes not hitting the ground as hard when he falls. I don’t think you want to take away his edge and his competitiveness. You want him to really understand the risk/reward, but I don’t know if he’ll make that great catch if he doesn’t have to get to the ball like that.
“Luckily he is doing well. He’s a stud. You talk about those things, but I think it’s a fine line when you have to make decisions at full speed and so many of those decisions that happen happen so quickly that it’s more instinctive than anything. You don’t want to take away one of his elite traits, you just want to continue teaching him how to take care of his body. Then we can understand the give and take in some practice situations where we can maybe be smart about some decisions that leave you open to those kinds of collisions or things of that nature.
Nacua’s fearlessness makes him special. But that fearlessness can get him hurt. As McVay said, there’s a fine line between playing at a ridiculously high level and playing with the kind of reckless abandon that can destroy the body.
Either way, it’s working for now. The Rams are within striking distance of the division title. To win they need Nacua to play the way he can. They also need him to play.
The best news is that it appears his collision with the artificial turf on Sunday won’t keep him from playing against the Eagles on Sunday night.