Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
Getty
Puka Nacua #12 of the Los Angeles Rams during warm-ups before a game against the Detroit Lions.
Puka Nacua checked himself into a rehabilitation facility amid alcohol-related incidents over the past handful of months, and the Los Angeles Rams star has sparked some strong reactions both for that decision and those that led to it.
It comes with Nacua at a crossroads with the Rams.
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.
Puka Nacua Draws Telling Reactions From Rams Legend, Mentor
Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
GettyPuka Nacua #12 of the Los Angeles Rams looks on before a game against the Carolina Panthers.
Jim Everett, the Rams’ all-time passing leader, reacted to Nacua’s decision to enter rehab amid an ongoing lawsuit in which the wideout is accused of biting two women in December 2025.
After initially believing the Rams needed a receiver to complement Nacua and Davante Adams, and eventually replace the latter, pointing to the 2026 draft as a potential solution, Everett upped it to a pair of receivers.
At least one of whom would be capable of replacing Nacua if need be.
“After the latest news…maybe not one but two? [thinking face emoji],” Everett said in a post on X on April 1.
Nacua posted a video amid his rehab stint, in which he is seen working out with Rams tight end Tyler Higbee and former teammate, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver and two-time Super Bowl champion Cooper Kupp.
Cameron DaSilva
Puka Nacua, who checked into rehab last month, is still training with Cooper Kupp and Tyler Higbee at The Village in LA
(via joshjholm/IG)
Nacua’s decision to enter rehab drew a different kind of strong reaction from a mentor.
“I knew this. I knew this last week. Yep. Called me. He told me,” former NFL wide receiver T.J. Houshmazadeh said on the “Speakeasy” podcast on April 1. “I told him, ‘That’s good. You need something, let me know.’ We communicate. And so, when he told me this, I was like, ‘Good. It’s about time. Just make sure when you’re in there, you’re making the most of it. Don’t just be in there to be in there. Make sure you’re a better Puka when you come out.
“He’s 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–because when you say, ‘Puka,’ everybody knows who you’re talking about now–that you just got to step away.”
Houshmanzadeh added, “I was happy for him. Because I had been telling him, ‘Maybe you don’t have to check in or something, but start talking with somebody,’ and he took it a step further.
“He did this on his own. Nobody told him to, ‘Oh, you need…’ He did this on his own.”
Puka Nacua Under Microscope
Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
GettyPuka Nacua #12 of the Los Angeles Rams reacts against the Seattle Seahawks.
The Rams have expressed support for Nacua, praising his play 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.
Still, the Rams’ decision to hold off on an extension seemed curious when the news broke and only grows more so as the situation plays out.
Dan Patrick noted Nacua has “had some moments” that weren’t very good.”
Patrick noted that he believed Nacua was “ready” and “up” for a lucrative contract extension following the Seahawks’ reaching a deal with Jaxon Smith-Njigba. However, the Rams’ inaction since then makes more sense to Patrick in light of Nacua’s situation.
Patrick noted that teams are usually proactive in addressing star players’ contract situations, and that he believes the reason the Rams have not is “unfolding right in front of us.”
“Puka Nacua is a great football player, but he wants to be famous. He wants to be internet famous. … It just feels like he wants to be more than just a great football player. But in, let’s 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’re just little things, little things, little things, little things, and then they add up,” Patrick said on “The Dan Patrick Show” on April 2.
“His attorney or agent was blaming the media that part of the reason why he’s going into rehab is because we keep bringing up these stories. We’re not making them up; We’re telling the truth on what is actually happening. We’re just reporting that.”
Brown’s career spiraled amid outbursts and legal issues. It culminated in his leaving the field mid-game against the New York Jets while with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021.
Puka Nacua Impacting Contract
Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
GettyPuka Nacua #12 of the Los Angeles Rams looks on before facing the Houston Texans.
Nacua’s actions are undoubtedly having an impact on what may still be an inevitable extension with the Rams.
It is unclear how, though.
“Everybody 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,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on “Get Up” on April 2.
“You’re 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.”