{"id":850144,"date":"2026-04-02T22:24:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T22:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/850144\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T22:24:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T22:24:23","slug":"rams-legend-offers-strong-words-amid-puka-nacua-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/850144\/","title":{"rendered":"Rams Legend Offers Strong Words Amid Puka Nacua Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Puka\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Puka Nacua #12 of the Los Angeles Rams during warm-ups before a game against the Detroit Lions.<\/p>\n

Puka Nacua<\/a> checked himself into a rehabilitation facility<\/a> amid alcohol-related incidents over the past handful of months, and the Los Angeles Rams<\/a> star has sparked some strong reactions both for that decision and those that led to it.<\/p>\n

It comes with Nacua at a crossroads with the Rams.<\/p>\n

He is extension-eligible and has significantly outplayed his rookie contract. But his off-field antics have done notable damage to the image he and the team would prefer prevailed.<\/p>\n

Puka Nacua Draws Telling Reactions From Rams Legend, Mentor\"Puka<\/p>\n

GettyPuka Nacua #12 of the Los Angeles Rams looks on before a game against the Carolina Panthers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jim Everett<\/a>, the Rams\u2019 all-time passing leader, reacted to Nacua\u2019s decision to enter rehab amid an ongoing lawsuit in which the wideout is accused of biting two women in December 2025.<\/p>\n

After initially believing the Rams needed a receiver<\/a> to complement Nacua and Davante Adams<\/a>, and eventually replace the latter, pointing to the 2026 draft as a potential solution, Everett upped it to a pair of receivers.<\/p>\n

At least one of whom would be capable of replacing Nacua if need be.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the latest news\u2026maybe not one but two? [thinking face emoji],\u201d Everett said<\/a> in a post on X on April 1.<\/p>\n

Nacua posted a video amid his rehab stint, in which he is seen working out with Rams tight end Tyler Higbee<\/a> and former teammate, Seattle Seahawks<\/a> wide receiver and two-time Super Bowl champion Cooper Kupp<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Puka Nacua, who checked into rehab last month, is still training with Cooper Kupp and Tyler Higbee at The Village in LA <\/p>\n

(via joshjholm\/IG) <\/p>\n

Nacua\u2019s decision to enter rehab drew a different kind of strong reaction from a mentor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew this. I knew this last week. Yep. Called me. He told me,\u201d former NFL<\/a> wide receiver T.J. Houshmazadeh<\/a> said on the \u201cSpeakeasy<\/a>\u201d podcast on April 1. \u201cI told him, \u2018That\u2019s good. You need something, let me know.\u2019 We communicate. And so, when he told me this, I was like, \u2018Good. It\u2019s about time. Just make sure when you\u2019re in there, you\u2019re making the most of it. Don\u2019t just be in there to be in there. Make sure you\u2019re a better Puka when you come out.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a great person, man. All he wants to do is laugh, smile, and have fun. And I just think everything that has come at him in such a short period of time\u2013because when you say, \u2018Puka,\u2019 everybody knows who you\u2019re talking about now\u2013that you just got to step away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Houshmanzadeh added, \u201cI was happy for him. Because I had been telling him, \u2018Maybe you don\u2019t have to check in or something, but start talking with somebody,\u2019 and he took it a step further.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did this on his own. Nobody told him to, \u2018Oh, you need\u2026\u2019 He did this on his own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Puka Nacua Under Microscope\"Puka<\/p>\n

GettyPuka Nacua #12 of the Los Angeles Rams reacts against the Seattle Seahawks.<\/p>\n

The Rams have expressed support for Nacua, praising his play<\/a> on the field and even acknowledging how critical his off-field activity is to both parties moving forward. They did not release the news of his rehab stay, either.<\/p>\n

Still, the Rams\u2019 decision to hold off on an extension seemed curious when the news broke and only grows more so as the situation plays out.<\/p>\n

Dan Patrick noted Nacua has \u201chad some moments\u201d that weren\u2019t very good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patrick noted that he believed Nacua was \u201cready\u201d and \u201cup\u201d for a lucrative contract extension following the Seahawks\u2019 reaching a deal with Jaxon Smith-Njigba<\/a>. However, the Rams\u2019 inaction since then makes more sense to Patrick in light of Nacua\u2019s situation.<\/p>\n

Patrick noted that teams are usually proactive in addressing star players\u2019 contract situations, and that he believes the reason the Rams have not is \u201cunfolding right in front of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPuka Nacua is a great football player, but he wants to be famous. He wants to be internet famous. \u2026 It just feels like he wants to be more than just a great football player. But in, let\u2019s say, three years from now, is he going to be an All-Pro, or is he going to be Antonio Brown? That would be my concern here. They\u2019re just little things, little things, little things, little things, and then they add up,\u201d Patrick said on \u201cThe Dan Patrick Show<\/a>\u201d on April 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis attorney or agent was blaming the media that part of the reason why he\u2019s going into rehab is because we keep bringing up these stories. We\u2019re not making them up; We\u2019re telling the truth on what is actually happening. We\u2019re just reporting that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown\u2019s career spiraled amid outbursts and legal issues. It culminated in his leaving the field mid-game against the New York Jets<\/a> while with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a> in 2021.<\/p>\n

Puka Nacua Impacting Contract\"Puka<\/p>\n

GettyPuka Nacua #12 of the Los Angeles Rams looks on before facing the Houston Texans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nacua\u2019s actions are undoubtedly having an impact on what may still be an inevitable extension with the Rams.<\/p>\n

It is unclear how, though.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody believes that Puka is going to get paid. But the Rams, obviously, want him to get the help and treatment he needs first before they move on to the contractual element of this. And when teams are doing contracts, they look at the entire picture. They need that person to be a leader on and off the field. They need to be an example,\u201d ESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter said on \u201cGet Up<\/a>\u201d on April 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to make him one of the highest-paid players in the league, give him $40-plus million. You need to make sure that that person is going to be handling himself the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tJosh Buckhalter<\/a> covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. He has covered both leagues since 2016, including bylines at FanSided, Last Word on Sports and Clocker Sports. He’s based in Villa Park, Illinois. Follow Josh on Twitter and Instagram: @JoshGBuck More about Josh Buckhalter<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Puka Nacua #12 of the Los Angeles Rams during warm-ups before a game against the Detroit Lions.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":850145,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2079],"tags":[7,1014,58,2444,2611,6,424],"class_list":{"0":"post-850144","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-rams","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-los-angeles","10":"tag-los-angeles-rams","11":"tag-losangeles","12":"tag-losangelesrams","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-rams"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116337462863095635","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=850144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=850144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=850144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=850144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}