Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald was ruled out for Week 4, but Los Angeles expects wide receiver Puka Nacua to be on the field Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Donald is dealing with soreness in his back that crept up last week against the Denver Broncos, head coach Sean McVay said Friday.
Nacua plans to play for the first time since the Sept. 10 opener and had no injury designation on the Friday practice report. His hip ailment was not considered a long-term injury, but McVay didn’t want to put Nacua on the field until he was fully healthy.
Donald has yet to play in a game with pass rusher Myles Garrett, who has been sidelined since the season opener recovering from knee surgery. Donald, who came out of retirement this year, sat out the Week 1 game in Australia and played the following week for the first time since January 2024.
“He’s as tough as it gets, just not feeling good enough. And I think it would be irresponsible on my part … to ask him,” McVay said. “He would do it and he could probably go be productive, but part of our job is to protect these tough dudes like him from themselves.”
McVay said Nacua was “sharp” in practices this week with no remnants of what the receiver said were “sharp pains that I was starting to feel that kind of put me down.”
Nacua led the NFL in receptions last season and missed only one game. He had 129 receptions for 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns.
In his only game this season, Nacua caught five passes for 74 yards against the 49ers.
The Rams also waived wide receiver and return man Xavier Smith on Friday. Smith had a costly fumble on a misjudged punt against the Seahawks in the second half of the NFC Championship Game in January but had a second chance under special teams coach Bubba Ventrone to start the 2026 season.
Earlier this week, Ventrone indicated a change was in the offing.
“We need to do a better job of tracking the ball, judging the ball, fielding the ball,” he said.