With Rams receiver Puka Nacua having “core muscle” issues during training camp and then a hip/groin problem that caused him to miss two games, it began to seem as if Nacua might have a hernia.
But coach Sean McVay, during Puka’s recent absence, said the Rams’ top receiver does not have a hernia.
As explained by Erin Andrews of Fox Sports early in Sunday’s Rams-Eagles game, Nacua has a “pre-hernia.”
Basically, there’s a weakness in the wall of muscle that keeps internal tissue from popping through. But, for now, nothing has popped through. So it’s not a hernia yet. But it could still become a hernia.
The question becomes whether the rest has allowed the weakness/strain in the affected area of the hip/groin to improve sufficiently to prevent a hernia from developing. If it ever does, there’s only one way to fix it.
At one point, McVay tiptoed around the situation by saying that “some of the things can be like pre-hernia.” As Andrews put it on Sunday, there’s no “like” about it. Nacua has been dealing with the symptoms of the kind of weakness in the structures that can allow a hernia to form. It hasn’t yet, and that may simply be a matter of luck.
On Sunday, Nacua was able to play — and to play well. He had nine catches for 125 yards. It remains to be seen whether the forces applied as he accelerated, changed directions, etc. will make things worse. The overriding question is whether it can and will heal over time, especially as he continues to apply stress to the affected area.
Either way, it’s a concerning situation for one of the best receivers in the NFL. And it’s something that could still result in a condition that will require surgery, during or after the 2026 season.