Puka Nacua seems to be ready to go this weekend for the Los Angeles Rams against the Philadelphia Eagles, but Stephen A. Smith has not been impressed with the reason behind his absence.
The wide receiver missed the last two Rams games following the trip to Melbourne, Australia for their opening game of the season. Despite his injury absence, footage still surfaced of Nacua running seemingly at full speed during practice.
Despite being the clear Super Bowl favourites, the Rams have not looked all that convincing through the opening three weeks, with Smith making his feelings known on Nacua being sidelined despite potentially still being fit enough to actually play.
His comments did not go down well with ESPN colleague Dan Orlovsky.
What Stephen A. Smith said about LA Rams receiver Puka Nacua
Fortunately for the Rams, Davante Adams has stepped up in Nacua’s absence, but the star wideout has been a big loss for Matthew Stafford’s offence. Following a turbulent offseason for Nacua, Smith did not hold back in his assessment of his recent absence.
“You sitting on the bench, not because he’s hurt, y’all, but because ‘I’m not fully healthy. I’m not as explosive as I normally am, and that’s why, even though I could play, I’m going to sit on the bench’. This ain’t the NBA with 82 games or the NHL. This ain’t baseball with 162 games. You got 17 games. If you had 75%, get out there,” Smith said on First Take.
Throughout the passionate rant, Orlovsky could be seen shaking his head as he eagerly awaited the opportunity to counter Smith’s comments.
“I ain’t gonna lie. When you do that about Puka Nacua, man, that rubs me the wrong way. Stephen A., he’s doing one of the toughest dudes in the league. Yes, he is a warrior, man, warrior.”
A number of fans online have speculated as to whether Nacua has served a silent suspension following his offseason, which did not provide him with the new contract he would have hoped for – likely due to his off-field issues.
However, despite Smith’s comments, it is still a long NFL season ahead of the Rams, who are already missing Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald due to injury issues. Losing Nacua for a prolonged period of time is not what Sean McVay will want.
Read more:
Discover more from NAIRAVOICE.COM.NG
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
