Locals in the NFL: Rams wideout Puka Nacua inactive for Monday Night Football
Sep 21, 2026, 5:37 PM | Updated: Sep 22, 2026, 11:04 am
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver is inactive for Monday night's game against the New York Giants with a hip injury. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
(Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA -Former BYU and Orem High standout Puka Nacua (hip) is inactive for the Los Angeles Rams’ game against the New York Giants on “Monday Night Football.”
The fourth-year wide receiver will miss the matchup against Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Rams WR Puka Nacua (hip) inactive tonight vs. Giants. pic.twitter.com/oFQRQnrUPu
— NFL (@NFL) September 21, 2026
For the fans who followed Nacua from Orem to BYU and into the NFL, his absence takes a familiar face out of the prime-time matchup. For the Rams, it means playing without their leading receiver as they seek their first win of the season.
Nacua opened the season with five catches for 74 yards in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He entered 2026 with 4,191 career receiving yards and 19 touchdown catches.
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About Puka Nacua
Nacua’s path to Los Angeles began at Orem High, where he set multiple state records before starting his college career at Washington.
After two seasons with the Huskies, he transferred to BYU ahead of the 2021 season. He finished his Cougars career with 91 catches for 1,430 yards and 11 touchdowns, adding five rushing touchdowns.
The Rams selected Nacua in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft with the No. 177 overall pick. He quickly made that selection look like a bargain.
Nacua set NFL rookie records with 105 catches and 1,486 receiving yards in 2023, scoring six touchdowns. He earned second-team All-Pro honors and finished second to C.J. Stroud in voting for AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Injuries limited Nacua during his second season, but he still finished with 79 catches for 990 yards and three touchdowns.
He followed that with his first first-team All-Pro selection in 2025, leading the NFL with 129 catches. He finished with 1,715 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in 16 games.
For now, the next step in Nacua’s NFL story is getting back on the field — and giving those who have followed him since his Orem days another reason to tune in.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
Parts of this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team.
