LOS ANGELES (AP) — Puka Nacua says he never considered holding out of training camp as he enters the final year of his rookie contract with the Los Angeles Rams.
The All-Pro receiver loves — and needs — the day-to-day grind of football too much to step away from it, even for financial purposes.
Nacua also realizes his standing with the Rams isn’t quite as rock-solid as it was a year ago, and the best way to repair it after a winter of missteps is with a good summer.
“I think the game of football is a safe place for me, and I enjoy that,” Nacua said Wednesday after showing off his connection with Matthew Stafford repeatedly during the Rams’ fourth practice at Loyola Marymount.
Nacua says he has taken responsibility for the distractions he created last winter for the Rams, who advanced to the NFC championship game while he led the league in receptions.
After Nacua issued a public apology last December for unwittingly performing a gesture that plays upon antisemitic tropes while appearing on an internet livestream, he was subsequently sued in March by a woman who claims he made an antisemitic statement and bit her on the shoulder while partying on New Year’s Eve.
Nacua could face a league suspension in the upcoming season, but he says his conversations with the Rams and the NFL have been nothing compared to the tough talks with his family.
“There have been things that happened this offseason that haven’t been the truest reflection of the person I feel like I am, and how my mother raised me,” Nacua said. “There’s definitely been conversations with her to apologize, but also for her to say that she supports me. Also, my brothers are, I think, my biggest critics as well, so there were some intense conversations, but also loving conversations in order to see improvement.”
Nacua’s public mistakes occurred at an inopportune time for somebody in line to become one of the NFL’s highest-paid position players after three prolific seasons with the Rams. His upcoming payday will be the first contract for Nacua, whose four-year rookie deal was worth just over $4 million as a fifth-round pick in 2023.
But that’s only one reason Nacua rejected any notion of a holdout.
“Coming out here and seeing that jersey, No. 12, hung up in my locker is something that I don’t take for granted,” Nacua said. “Being around this group of guys, I think of all the guys that have reached out in this offseason to be there by my side, and then when we’re here in the meeting rooms, the level of connection I feel like I have with the guys out there, it never crossed my mind that I don’t want to be out there with those guys.”
Nacua says the Rams and his camp “haven’t had too many conversations” about the current state of negotiations for a new deal. Coach Sean McVay refused to make a connection between Nacua’s future behavior and the ultimate contract talks.
“I don’t think you want to dangle a carrot that way,” McVay said. “I think he’s inspired to do right because his heart is right, and then I think the contract will take care of itself because he’s an incredible player, and he’s continuing to mature as a man. I love him. I love his heart, and I love the growth that he’s had, and we’re with him every step of the way.”
The Rams have been publicly vague about their urgency to get a deal done with Nacua or their four additional starters from the 2023 draft class — pass rusher Byron Young, nose tackle Kobie Turner, left guard Steve Avila and right tackle Warren McClendon — who have all showed up to camp instead of holding out.
“We’ll see what the future holds, but I would love to be able to keep all of them,” McVay said. “I’ve been really impressed with how they’ve handled it, and I love this team and I’m grateful that those guys have taken this approach.”
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