Puka Nacua leads Week 2 Rams injury report that leaves room for concern

The Los Angeles Rams' Week 2 injury report is not as clean as fans would hope. Receiver Puka Nacua missed Friday and Saturday's practices with groin soreness, unrelated to his training camp injury, and is questionable for Monday's game. He'll likely be a gametime decision. 

Elsewhere at receiver, head coach Sean McVay said Jordan Whittington is doubtful with a quad issue. Safety Kam Kinchens has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. 

Linebackers Nate Landman and Omar Speights have been limited in practice managing Week 1 injuries. Ditto for safety Kam Curl (ankle). McVay said previously that Landman and Curl should be good to go, while Speights remains without an injury designation as of Sunday morning.

Myles Garrett will miss his first of at least four games on injured reserve. The good news: in case you haven't heard, Aaron Donald plans to suit up for his 2026 debut. 

Rams injury report is especially problematic at receiver

Given McVay's hopeful tone on Landman, Curl, and Speights, and the team's depth at safety to compensate for Kinchens' absence, receiver is easily the most significant area of roster impact. And not just because of Nacua.

Missing both Nacua and Whittington, the Rams would be down to five receivers on the 53-man roster, which means that Week 1 inactives Tutu Atwell and CJ Daniels could play. Daniels' debut would be exciting to see, but with depth already iffy behind Nacua and Davante Adams, even a rotational contributor like Whittington is far from nothing. LA would also need to replace Whittington on kick returns, potentially with running back Ronnie Rivers.

Nacua's gametime status is particularly concerning after a Week 1 performance in which no other pass-catcher did much of anything. Nacua led the pack with six catches for 74 yards, but he also drew multiple penalties, including a big gain on a pass interference call. 

The Rams fared just fine without Nacua in Week 7 last year, but they also got a lot of help from their tight ends. That was not the case against the 49ers, when McVay and Company failed to get them effectively involved as pass-catchers despite an abundance of heavy-personnel sets. That will have to change big-time if the offense is down Nacua and potentially Whittington, too. 

While having Kinchens available would obviously be preferable, a starting safety trio of Curl, Quentin Lake, and Jaylen McCollough is far from the worst thing in the world. The Rams elevated Tanner Ingle from the practice squad Friday for depth. 

The defense also has a capable pair of backups at linebacker in Shaun Dolac and Grant Stuard. Depth behind them - e.g., none - would be a concern, but LA won't be left high and dry if Speights is a late scratch. 

Of course, it's not a dream scenario to have both starting linebackers dinged up ahead of a game that will require plenty of strong tackling up the middle to bring down Giants running back Cam Skattebo and dual-threat QB Jaxson Dart.

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