The Los Angeles Rams made it official Thursday evening before their Thursday Night Football matchup against the Minnesota Vikings: star second-year WR Puka Nacua (knee) will play in tonight’s game.
The move makes sense, even if Nacua does only play a small fraction of snaps. It is, after all, a must-win game for this era of the Rams, whose aging core is becoming too financially onerous to roster as soon as the 2025 season.
However, Nacua being active clearly signals the Rams believe they can win tonight’s game against the Vikings at home, and potentially go on a streak of wins that puts them in playoff contention in a rather-gettable NFC West.
As for how this affects Puka Nacua’s fantasy managers?
Analysis
The only way I’d start Nacua tonight is if I believe the Rams have been withholding about the strides Puka’s made in his recovery. They did, after all, just open his 21-day practice window on Monday. Nacua logged limited practices both Tuesday and Wednesday.
If they had been full practices, I think I’d be more inclined to start Nacua. But then, if they were full practices, and I were the opposing defensive coordinator, Brian Flores, I would shift my gameplan a bit more to account for Nacua’s presence on the field.
What I’m saying is: we have no idea the degree to which gamesmanship is a factor in this roster move right now, nor do we have any idea how it will translate to Nacua’s production on the field. Presumably, you’ve found an at-least-serviceable replacement for Puka since he aggravated his knee injury in Week 1. I’d go with the replacement, in this case.
However, if you’re desperate, or just feel like rolling the dice—it is, after all, Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay in a must-win game. Season-on-the-line type stuff. It’s entirely possible Nacua sees eight-to-ten targets. But I see this as a pure boom-or-bust play.
Start or Sit Puka Nacua: Sit
The savvy play, honestly, might be to let him do whatever he’s going to do in your IR slot tonight. Don’t activate him to your roster, yet, if you’re planning on sitting Nacua.
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