After an offseason of negative media attention, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua is turning his attention back to football. Attending the first day of the Rams’ offseason program, Nacua was embraced by teammates as he enters a contract year and a potential date with destiny, as he is one of the favorites to win 2026 Offensive Player of the Year.
Several players spoke to the media on Monday about Nacua, including Steve Avila, Quentin Lake, and Kobie Turner. Avila and Turner are fellow members of the 2023 draft class with Nacua, while Lake is a team captain, along with Turner.
Avila spoke about how he supports his brother on offense.
“Extending your hand out, especially at times like this, is definitely the one thing that you can do,” stated Avila. “Puka knows he has a great support system around him, and I think that’s who he’s leaning on right now. I feel that as a person, that’s all you can do is extend the hand. I know he’s taking care of everything right now. I know that he knows that we all love him and we’re going to do everything we can to help him. He definitely has his head on his shoulders. We’re going to let him go through that stuff and I know he’s going to learn from everything.”
Avila, one of the friendliest people you’ll meet, has a tremendous personal relationship with several members of the organization, inclduing Nacua.
Lake also added how he goes about supporting Nacua.
“At the end of the day, being authentic and genuine to myself,” Lake said. “That’s my brother. I love him to death. He’s one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever got to work with and be a part of. At the end of the day, all we can do is rally around him. That’s it. As a team, we love him to death. We know who he is as a person and as a football player. We’re just making sure we’re there to support him.”
Like Nacua, Turner is a new father after welcoming a baby girl to his family this offseason. He echoed many of those same sentiments. Turner is close friends with Avila, often having the Rams guard over to his house.
“I think that it’s great that he is back here with us right now,” Turner said of Nacua. “He’s one of us. He’s our brother. It’s so great that he is back in the fold. That’s going to be his story to tell. When he feels ready to tell it, I’m sure he’ll be able to talk and say whatever he wants to say on that. Most importantly, that guy is our brother. It’s super special to have him back. We’re going to continue to build towards being the best people and the best version of this team that we can be.”
Turner also provided an update on Nacua’s well-being.
“He seems cool,” added Turner. “He seems refreshed. I think for all of us, whenever you step into this building, I’ve been in the building a lot this offseason, and it’s just different when you come back and everyone else is back. I think that’s just the feeling that everybody has. Everyone’s super excited to be back. To see so many familiar faces, too, we have a lot of returning guys. To be able to come back and continue to build on the foundation that we’ve set and really to be able to build a new foundation this year, is going to be something that’s super special. I think we’re all feeling that same energy. We’re feeling refreshed, renewed and excited to go.”
The start of the regular season is still a long way away, but it’s just good to see Nacua back in the building and getting ready for his fourth year in the NFL.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams players back Puka Nacua after rocky offseason