With Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua potentially missing a second straight game with a groin injury, questions linger about his return.
And it is now impossible not to wonder if the lack of a new contract contributes to this situation.
Nacua makes $5.767 million in the final year of his rookie contract. Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who arrived in the NFL the same year as Nacua, landed his second contract, for $42.15 million per year. Yes, Nacua’s contract was delayed due to his off-field issues. But without financial security beyond this year, Nacua surely doesn’t want to risk worsening his injury and missing even more time. Likewise, he doesn’t want to perform in a way that would reduce the perception that he deserves to be paid among the best in the league at the position.
This dynamic is hidden in the latest update from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. He reports that Nacua “could return next week“, but that the groin problem has” had an impact on his explosiveness.
The key observation is this: Nacua “functionally” can play, “but he doesn’t feel like he can play with the same explosiveness as in the past.”
In other words, he doesn’t want to diminish his contract year by not playing with characteristic explosiveness.
The team, according to Schefter, does not believe surgery is necessary, but it is “not entirely ruled out.”
This is not a detention in itself. It appears to be a real injury, which combines a desire not to make the situation worse and a goal to play the best he can, when he plays.
Here’s the bottom line: Nacua would most likely play if he had his second contract and the security that comes with it.
Gn sports
